Kfar Giladi

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Kfar Giladi
Founded	1916
Founded by	HaShomer
Region	Upper Galilee
Industries	Agriculture, metal processing plant, building material quarry, and resort accommodation
Affiliation	Kibbutz Movement
Website	kfar-giladi.org.il (Hebrew)

Coordinates: 33°14′33″N, 35°34′30″E

Kfar Giladi (Hebrew: כפר גלעדי‎), named after Israel Giladi, who is one of the HaShomer founders, is a kibbutz in Israel's Upper Galilee, south of Metula, Israel's northernmost town, on the border with Lebanon, and north of the better known Northern city of Kiryat Shemona.

The kibbutz is part of the "Galilee Panhandle." A map showing the entire panhandle can be found at http://www.geocities.com/kayalethu/map.html. For a look at an aerial photo of the kibbutz, go to http://www.geocities.com/kayalethu/south.html.

1 Agriculture and Industry at Kfar Giladi
2 History
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Agriculture and Industry at Kfar Giladi

Kfar Giladi is home to several diverse industries, including agriculture, a quarry, nurseries, an eyewear factory (Galilee Optics, which closed in 2005) and a modern hotel.

The agricultural activities of the kibbutz include the growing of apples and avocados, the main crops that are considered a significant portion of the kibbutz's income. Volunteers are solicited to help pick the fruits during the harvest season along with kibbutz members.

Other crops include lychees, corn, cotton, wheat, and potatoes. Livestock includes chickens and daily cows, and fish ponds.

Several older buildings stand on the kibbutz that memorialize previous battles on the site, before and during Israel's War of Independence.

The kibbutz's hotel is a modern facility with several three-story structures located close to a communal dining room and indoor and outdoor pools. Cafeteria and hotel workers include lifelong kibbutz residents and students from the nearby Tel Hai Academic College, Israel's northernmost institution of higher education. Some college staffers come up for a day or two a week from Tel Aviv and other points south and use the hotel for regular weekly lodging. The hotel affords unobstructed views of Mt. Hermon, which is in the Golan Heights.

[edit] History

The kibbutz was founded in 1916 by members of HaShomer on land owned by the Jewish Colonization Association. After the Arab attack on Tel Hai in 1920 it was temporarily abandoned. Ten months later, the settlers returned.

On August 6, 2006, during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, twelve reserve IDF soldiers were killed after being hit by a katyusha rocket launched by Hezbollah from Southern Lebanon. The group of artillery gunners were gathering on the kibbutz in preparation for action in the conflict.