Mishmar HaEmek
Encyclopedia
Mishmar HaEmek is a kibbutz
in northern Israel
. Located in the western Jezreel Valley
, it falls under the jurisdiction of Megiddo Regional Council
. In 2006 it had a population of 964.
During the autumn of 1942, when there were fears of a German victory in the Middle East, Mishmar HaEmek was used as a training camp by the British army. 160 Jewish volunteers, who later were to become members of the Palmach
branch of the Haganah
, were trained by Royal Engineers in sabotage and wireless operation. Several tons of explosives were hidden in caches in case the area came under German occupation. This program was terminated immediately upon the training of the volunteers, and orders issued for the collection of all equipment and explosives to be returned to the British.
In 1947, Mishmar HaEmek had a population of 550. The name means "Guardian of the Emek." The Jewish National Fund
and Worton Hall Studios
made a 1947 movie called The Great Promise (Dim'at Ha'Nehamah Ha'Gedolah), and a number of the scenes were filmed here.
On 4 April 1948
it came under full scale attack by the Arab Liberation Army
. The Palmach
inflicted a significant defeat on the attackers.
Currently, about 1,300 people live in the kibbutz, 600 of which are considered members. Most of the original kibbutz members are originally from Poland
and Galicia, but today's population is from many places around the world. The kibbutz's ideology is based on the Hashomer Hatzair
movement.
The kibbutz economy is based mainly on "Tama" - Plastic factory, based in the kibbutz with additional factories located elsewhere in Israel. The kibbutz also produces chickens and farms about 7,000 dunam
s. "Idea", A high-tech company based in Mishmar HaEmek, is responsible for the database system of the Holocaust
museum Yad Vashem
.
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
in northern Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. Located in the western Jezreel Valley
Jezreel Valley
-Etymology:The Jezreel Valley takes its name from the ancient city of Jezreel which was located on a low hill overlooking the southern edge of the valley, though some scholars think that the name of the city originates from the name of the clan which founded it, and whose existence is mentioned in...
, it falls under the jurisdiction of Megiddo Regional Council
Megiddo Regional Council
The Megiddo Regional Council is a regional council in northern Israel encompassing land on the Menashe Plateau, and partly in the Jezreel Valley...
. In 2006 it had a population of 964.
During the autumn of 1942, when there were fears of a German victory in the Middle East, Mishmar HaEmek was used as a training camp by the British army. 160 Jewish volunteers, who later were to become members of the Palmach
Palmach
The Palmach was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine. The Palmach was established on May 15, 1941...
branch of the Haganah
Haganah
Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
, were trained by Royal Engineers in sabotage and wireless operation. Several tons of explosives were hidden in caches in case the area came under German occupation. This program was terminated immediately upon the training of the volunteers, and orders issued for the collection of all equipment and explosives to be returned to the British.
In 1947, Mishmar HaEmek had a population of 550. The name means "Guardian of the Emek." The Jewish National Fund
Jewish National Fund
The Jewish National Fund was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Palestine for Jewish settlement. The JNF is a quasi-governmental, non-profit organisation...
and Worton Hall Studios
Worton Hall Studios
Isleworth Studios, also known as Worton Hall Studios were located in Worton Road, Isleworth in the London Borough of Hounslow and this film studio mainly concentrated on commercial advertising films but was also the studio for a few noteworthy films, for example The African Queen. After closing...
made a 1947 movie called The Great Promise (Dim'at Ha'Nehamah Ha'Gedolah), and a number of the scenes were filmed here.
On 4 April 1948
Battle of Mishmar HaEmek
The Battle of Mishmar HaEmek was a ten-day battle fought from 4 to 15 April 1948 between the Arab Liberation Army commanded by Fawzi al-Qawuqji and the Haganah commanded by Yitzhak Sadeh...
it came under full scale attack by the Arab Liberation Army
Arab Liberation Army
The Arab Liberation Army , also translated as Arab Salvation Army, was an army of volunteers from Arab countries led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji...
. The Palmach
Palmach
The Palmach was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine. The Palmach was established on May 15, 1941...
inflicted a significant defeat on the attackers.
Currently, about 1,300 people live in the kibbutz, 600 of which are considered members. Most of the original kibbutz members are originally from Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and Galicia, but today's population is from many places around the world. The kibbutz's ideology is based on the Hashomer Hatzair
Hashomer Hatzair
Hashomer Hatzair is a Socialist–Zionist youth movement founded in 1913 in Galicia, Austria-Hungary, and was also the name of the group's political party in the Yishuv in the pre-1948 British Mandate of Palestine...
movement.
The kibbutz economy is based mainly on "Tama" - Plastic factory, based in the kibbutz with additional factories located elsewhere in Israel. The kibbutz also produces chickens and farms about 7,000 dunam
Dunam
A dunam or dönüm, dunum, donum, dynym, dulum was a non-SI unit of land area used in the Ottoman Empire and representing the amount of land that can be plowed in a day; its value varied from 900–2500 m²...
s. "Idea", A high-tech company based in Mishmar HaEmek, is responsible for the database system of the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
museum Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
.
Notable residents
The kibbutz has been home to numerous Israeli politicians and several important literary figures, including:- Eli AmirEli Amir-External links:...
, author - Mordechai BentovMordechai BentovMordechai Bentov was an Israeli journalist and politician, and was one of the signatories of the Israeli declaration of independence.-Biography:...
, government minister and signatory of the Israeli declaration of independence - Yaakov HazanYaakov Hazan-Biography:Hazan was born in 1899 in Brest-Litovsk in the Russian Empire to parents Haim Yehuda H. and Malka Kaminetzki. He studied in a Heder and a Hebrew high school. In 1915, he was among the founders of the "Hebrew Scouts movement" in Poland , where he was also one of first members of...
, member of the KnessetKnessetThe Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government... - Amnon LinnAmnon Linn-Biography:Linn was born in Mishmar HaEmek to Hava and David Linn. He became a member of the Hashomer Hatzair youth movement in 1940, and in 1942 joined the Palmach, fighting in Haifa. He met his wife, Ruth Hushi, daughter of Abba Hushi in 1945, and married her later that same year...
, member of the Knesset - Hillel OmerHillel OmerAyin Hillel was the pen name of Hillel Omer , an Israeli poet and children's author. -Biography:Hillel Omer was born in Kibbutz Mishmar HaEmek in the Jezreel Valley. His father changed his surname, Kotovitz, to Ogni . He fought in the Palmach during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War...
, poet and writer - Emry Ron, member of the Knesset
- Moshe ShamirMoshe ShamirMoshe Shamir was an Israeli author, playwright, opinion writer, and public figure.-Biography:...
, author and playwright - Mordechai Shenhavi, one of the founders of Hashomer HatzairHashomer HatzairHashomer Hatzair is a Socialist–Zionist youth movement founded in 1913 in Galicia, Austria-Hungary, and was also the name of the group's political party in the Yishuv in the pre-1948 British Mandate of Palestine...
- Adin TalbarAdin TalbarAdin Talbar, also Adin Theilhaber-Talbar, was Deputy Director of the Israel Ministry for Commerce and Industry, furthered German-Israeli cooperation and is the founder of the Israel Academic Sports Association ....
, athlete and sports official - Emma TalmiEmma TalmiEmma Talmi was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Mapam and the Alignment between 1955 and 1969.-Biography:Born in Warsaw in the Russian Empire , Talmi joined Hashomer Hatzair at the age of 15, and in 1924, at the age of 19, made aliyah to Mandate Palestine on her own...
, member of the Knesset - Zellig HarrisZellig HarrisZellig Sabbettai Harris was a renowned American linguist, mathematical syntactician, and methodologist of science. Originally a Semiticist, he is best known for his work in structural linguistics and discourse analysis and for the discovery of transformational structure in language...
, linguist