Rosh HaNikra (kibbutz)

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Rosh HaNikra
Founded	1949
Founded by	deactivated Palmach members
Region	Western Galilee
Industries	Agriculture, Tourism
Affiliation	United Kibbutz Movement, Hatzofim Haivriim, Hanoar Haoved Vehalomed, Habonim Dror
Website	http://www.rosh-hanikra.com

Rosh HaNikra (also Rosh HaNiqra; Hebrew: ראש הניקרה‎) is a kibbutz in the Mateh Asher Regional Council in Israel along the border of Lebanon. It is named for the nearby Rosh HaNikra grottoes, and today includes 600 members.

The Kibbutz was founded on June 1st, 1949, by deactivated members of a Palmach nucleus group (Hebrew: גרעין‎, gar'in) trained in Kibbutz Hanita, as well as assorted members of Zionist youth movements and young Holocaust survivors. The Kibbutz raises banana, avocado, and turkeys, as well as other domesticated animals. In 1974, Kibbutz members founded a biotechnology company called Rahan Meristem, which included the first commercial tissue culture laboratory in the country.

The coastal rail line used to continue from the Nahariya Train Station to Lebanon by way of Rosh HaNikra where there was a bridge and railway tunnel. Built by the British during World War II in order to move troops and supplies in the area during the Syria-Lebanon campaign, it was part of the Haifa-Beirut-Tripoli line. Israeli forces bombed the rail bridge during the Israeli War of Independence and the remnants of this line can be seen at Rosh HaNikra where a virtual "train ride to peace" movie is shown inside the sealed tunnel that used to go into Lebanon.