Usha () is a

kibbutz A kibbutz ( / , ; : kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania Alef, Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economi ...

in the western

Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...

area of

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. Located near the city of Kiryat Atta, it falls under the jurisdiction of

Zevulun Regional Council Zevulun Regional Council (, ''Mo'atza Azorit Zvulun'') is a regional council in the Haifa District of Israel. Founded in 1950, it had a population of 10,900 in 2006. The council borders Mateh Asher Regional Council to the north, Jezreel Valley ...

. In it had a population of .

History

The kibbutz was founded on 9 November 1937 as a tower and stockade settlement by a

Polish Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...

gar'in Gar'in (, ''lit.'' kernel) is a Hebrew term used for groups of people who moved together to Ottoman Palestine, British Palestine, and since 1948, Israel.Joel Beinin The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry- 2005 9774248902 "arrived in Israel while the m ...

formed in 1930. Prior to the establishment of the kibbutz, they had organised themselves in several moshavot in the Sharon area, including

Kfar Saba Kfar Saba ( ), officially Kfar Sava , is a List of Israeli cities, city in the Sharon plain, Sharon region, of the Central District (Israel), Central District of State of Israel, Israel. In 2019 it had a population of 110,456, making it the 16th-l ...

Magdiel Magdiel () is one of the four original communities of Jewish farmers who combined in 1964 to form Hod Hasharon, Israel. It was founded in 1924 and according to a 1931 census of Palestine, census conducted in 1931 by the Mandatory Palestine, Britis ...

and

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva (, ), also spelt Petah Tiqwa and known informally as Em HaMoshavot (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of the Old Y ...

. The founders were members of the

Hanoar Hatzioni Hanoar Hatzioni (, lit. ''The Zionist Youth''), fully "Histadrut Halutzit Olamit Hanoar Hatzioni", or "HH" for short, is a youth movement established in 1926,

youth group, and it was the first kibbutz established by the organisation. Its name was taken from the ancient

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish city of Usha, which remained in the Arab village

Hawsha Hawsha (, ''Hǔsheh'', also Husha) was an Arab village established in 1880 by Maghrebi immigrants of Algerian origin, built on ruins of the ancient Jewish town Usha. The place is located east of Haifa, about above sea level. During the late R ...

that was located nearby. During the

1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. The civil war becam ...

Usha and

Ramat Yohanan Ramat Yohanan () is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located near Kiryat Ata and adjacent to the kibbutzim of Kfar HaMaccabi and Usha, it falls under the jurisdiction of Zevulun Regional Council. In it had a population of . In 2014, Forbes Israe ...

were attacked by the

Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...

battalion of the

Arab Liberation Army The Arab Liberation Army (ALA; , better translated as Arab Rescue Army (ARA) or Arab Salvation Army (ASA), was an army of volunteers from Arab countries led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji. It fought on the Arab side in the 1948 Palestine war. It was set ...

, though the residents of the two settlements managed to repel the attack.

References

{{Authority control Kibbutzim Kibbutz Movement Populated places established in 1937 Populated places in Haifa District Polish-Jewish culture in Israel 1937 establishments in Mandatory Palestine