Yonatan, Golan Heights
Encyclopedia
Yonatan is an Israeli settlement
and a moshav
located in the central Golan Heights. Yonatan was started as a moshav shitufi
and underwent a privatization process to become a "yishuv kehillati" (community settlement). The settlement is affiliated with the Hapoel HaMizrachi
movement, and is under the jurisdiction of Golan Regional Council
. Around 350 people live there. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights illegal under international law
, but the Israeli government disputes this.
during the Yom Kippur War
.
as Prime Minister of Israel
. The original founding nucleus included people from Yonatan Rosenman's Nahal
gar'in. Immediately after the Yom Kippur War the founders including Yonatan's brother, Didi, decided to name a settlement after him and to start an agricultural community in the Golan Heights. In 1975 the settlement was started temporarily in the area of the settlement kibbutz Merom Golan
, and about a year later it moved to Tel Farj. Only in 1978 did it move to its present-day location.
and some springs and tributaries. It is about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of the Israel-Syria border, and a few km southwest of Keshet
, which is also a moshav shitufi of the Hapoel HaMizrachi
movement. It is about a 12 minute drive to Katsrin, 20 minutes to the Kinneret
, half an hour from Hatzor, 45 minute drive to the holy cities of Tiberias and Tsfat, and about 50 minutes from Carmiel.
. About 350 people live there, including 75 families and 210 children as of 2007. There is a significant English speaking population on the Moshav as well.
, pears, and passiflora
orchards in the Beit Tzida Valley and ; field crops include cotton
, corn
, wheat
, and tomato
es for industry. The community has areas for pasture
, chicken coop
s which markets 600,000 chickens a year, and the second-largest dairy herd
in Israel (as of 2007), whose milk is delivered to Tnuva
, a vineyard which supplies grapes to the Golan Heights winery. Yonatan also partners with the resort village Kinar on the shore of the Sea of Galilee
.
Israeli settlement
An Israeli settlement is a Jewish civilian community built on land that was captured by Israel from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and is considered occupied territory by the international community. Such settlements currently exist in the West Bank...
and a moshav
Moshav
Moshav is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists during the second aliyah...
located in the central Golan Heights. Yonatan was started as a moshav shitufi
Moshav shitufi
A Moshav shitufi is a type of cooperative village in Israel whose organizational principles place it between the kibbutz and the moshav on the scale of cooperation...
and underwent a privatization process to become a "yishuv kehillati" (community settlement). The settlement is affiliated with the Hapoel HaMizrachi
Hapoel HaMizrachi
Hapoel HaMizrachi |Mizrachi]] Workers) was a political party and settlement movement in Israel and is one of the predecessors of the National Religious Party.-History:...
movement, and is under the jurisdiction of Golan Regional Council
Golan Regional Council
The Golan Regional Council is the regional council consolidating almost all Israeli settlements located on the Golan Heights. It is made up of 19 moshavim and 10 kibbutzim, and other villages...
. Around 350 people live there. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights illegal under international law
International law and Israeli settlements
The international community considers the establishment of Israeli settlements in the Israeli-occupied territories illegal under international law, but Israel maintains that they are consistent with international law because it does not agree that the Fourth Geneva Convention applies to the...
, but the Israeli government disputes this.
Name
The settlement is named after Yonatan Rosenman, who was killed while operating a tankTank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
during the Yom Kippur War
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria...
.
History
The settlement was founded, together with four other settlements, during the tenure of Yitzhak RabinYitzhak Rabin
' was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995....
as Prime Minister of Israel
Prime Minister of Israel
The Prime Minister of Israel is the head of the Israeli government and the most powerful political figure in Israel . The prime minister is the country's chief executive. The official residence of the prime minister, Beit Rosh Hamemshala is in Jerusalem...
. The original founding nucleus included people from Yonatan Rosenman's Nahal
Nahal
Nahal is an Israel Defense Forces infantry brigade. Historically, it refers to a program that combines military service and establishment of new agricultural settlements, often in outlying areas...
gar'in. Immediately after the Yom Kippur War the founders including Yonatan's brother, Didi, decided to name a settlement after him and to start an agricultural community in the Golan Heights. In 1975 the settlement was started temporarily in the area of the settlement kibbutz Merom Golan
Merom Golan
Merom Golan is an Israeli settlement and a kibbutz in the northern Golan Heights which lies in the municipal territory of the Golan Regional Council...
, and about a year later it moved to Tel Farj. Only in 1978 did it move to its present-day location.
Geography
The present-day location is 570 metres (1,870.1 ft) above sea level, near Gilgal RefaimGilgal Refaim
Rujm el-Hiri is an ancient megalithic monument consisting of concentric circles of stone with a tumulus at center. It is located in the Golan Heights some 16 kilometres east of the eastern coast of the Sea of Galilee, in the middle of a large plateau covered with hundreds of dolmens.Made up of...
and some springs and tributaries. It is about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of the Israel-Syria border, and a few km southwest of Keshet
Keshet
Keshet may refer to:In Television:*Keshet is one of the two concessionaires running the Israeli commercial television Channel 2.Other uses:*Keshet is a social justice organization in Boston, Massachusetts....
, which is also a moshav shitufi of the Hapoel HaMizrachi
Hapoel HaMizrachi
Hapoel HaMizrachi |Mizrachi]] Workers) was a political party and settlement movement in Israel and is one of the predecessors of the National Religious Party.-History:...
movement. It is about a 12 minute drive to Katsrin, 20 minutes to the Kinneret
Kinneret
Kinneret or Kineret may refer to:* Sea of Galilee, Israel's largest freshwater lake** Kinneret, Israel, village southwest of the lake** Kvutzat Kinneret, kibbutz southwest of the lake** Kinneret College, college south of the lake...
, half an hour from Hatzor, 45 minute drive to the holy cities of Tiberias and Tsfat, and about 50 minutes from Carmiel.
Population
Residents of the settlement are members of Bnei AkivaBnei Akiva
Bnei Akiva is the largest religious Zionist youth movement in the world, with over 125,000 members in 37 countries. It was established in Mandate Palestine in 1929.-History:...
. About 350 people live there, including 75 families and 210 children as of 2007. There is a significant English speaking population on the Moshav as well.
Economy
The economy is based on apple and plum orchards and viniculture. Yonatan also has mangoMango
The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...
, pears, and passiflora
Passiflora edulis
Passiflora edulis is a vine species of passion flower that is native to Paraguay, Brazil and northern Argentina . Its common names include passion fruit and passionfruit...
orchards in the Beit Tzida Valley and ; field crops include cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
, corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
, wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
, and tomato
Tomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
es for industry. The community has areas for pasture
Pasture
Pasture is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep or swine. The vegetation of tended pasture, forage, consists mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs...
, chicken coop
Chicken coop
A chicken coop is a building where female chickens are kept. Inside there are often nest boxes for egg laying and perches on which the birds can sleep, although coops for meat birds seldom have either of these features....
s which markets 600,000 chickens a year, and the second-largest dairy herd
Dairy farming
Dairy farming is a class of agricultural, or an animal husbandry, enterprise, for long-term production of milk, usually from dairy cows but also from goats and sheep, which may be either processed on-site or transported to a dairy factory for processing and eventual retail sale.Most dairy farms...
in Israel (as of 2007), whose milk is delivered to Tnuva
Tnuva
Tnuva, or Tenuvah, is a cooperative in Israel specializing in milk and dairy products. The 620 members of the cooperative are made up a large number of kibbutzim and moshavim in Israel...
, a vineyard which supplies grapes to the Golan Heights winery. Yonatan also partners with the resort village Kinar on the shore of the Sea of Galilee
Sea of Galilee
The Sea of Galilee, also Kinneret, Lake of Gennesaret, or Lake Tiberias , is the largest freshwater lake in Israel, and it is approximately in circumference, about long, and wide. The lake has a total area of , and a maximum depth of approximately 43 m...
.
Life
Community life on the moshav is very active, orthodox, and everyone is shomrei mitzvoth, and Zionistic. A wide range of professionals live on Yonatan. There is a pediatrician, a dentist, a general practitioner, a university lecturer, a landscape architect, rabbinical scholars, teachers, electricians, high tech people, a plumber, and a policeman. For children: There is Talmud Torah classes, and gymboree. For adults: various shiurim given both by the Rabbi and other members of the community, and the culture committee organizes parties, holiday activities,and women's evenings. There is a grocery store, a health clinic, a secretarial office which provides postal services, a mikva, a library, and a gas station on the moshav.External links
- Official website
- Yonatan Golan Heights
- מיכה לבנה, גולן - 20 שנה ועוד 2000, משרד הביטחון הוצאה לאור, 1993.