Kibbutz Shamir

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Shamir is a kibbutz in Upper Galilee on the western slopes of the Golan on a rocky and unforgiving terrain. It was established in 1945 by a small group of mainly Romanian Jewish immigrants to Palestine. (Some sources date the founding of the kibbutz to 1944, but that was probably the date when the original settlers formed themselves into a 'kibbutz' in the Haifa region prior to moving to the present location.) In common with many other kibbutzim at the beggining it was more of a strategic outpost than a viable agricultural settlement.

Following the 1948 War of Independence the U.N.-established border between Israel and Syria was drawn to run only a few-hundred yards east of the kibbutz. The first-generation settlers were members of the Marxist Zionist youth movement Hashomer Hatzair.

Today(2006), Kibbutz Shamir is one of the most prosperous of all the kibbutzim, producing honey, toiletries, and advanced optical products. The optical enterprise, Shamir Optical Industry, is a fully incorporated stock company and is quoted on NASDAQ (SHMR). See also: http://www.ishitech.co.il/0405ar6.htm

Kibbutz Shamir offers spectacular views of Mount Hermon to the north and the Hula Valley below the kibbutz. The town of Qiryat Shemona can be seen in the far distance on the other side of the valley at the foot of the Ramim mountain range.

A relatively rare phenomenon can be observed from the kibbutz – a ‘sunrise in the west’. The kibbutz is nested in the steeply-rising western slopes of the Golan. When the sun rises, its first rays at daybreak illuminate the peaks of the Ramim mountain range across the valley to the west of Shamir. As the sun climbs progressively higher the more of Ramim is bathed in sunshine which can then be observed progressing from west to east, down the slopes of Ramim, across the valley and up the slopes of the Golan before reaching the kibbutz.

There are some 3rd c. border stones with Greek inscriptions and several dolmens in the vicinity of the kibbutz.
Local wildlife: jackals, hyenas, vultures.