| El Rom | |
| Hebrew | אֶל רוֹם |
| Founded | 1971 |
| Founded by | Members of the Zionist youth movement |
| Council | Golan Regional Council |
| Region | Golan Heights |
| District | North |
| Affiliation | Kibbutz Movement |
| Coordinates | |
| Population | 274 (2006) |
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El Rom
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| Website | kfar-elrom.com |
El Rom (Hebrew: אֶל רוֹם, lit. To Height) is an Israeli settlement and a kibbutz, in the northern Golan Heights which lies in the municipal territory of the Golan Regional Council. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.[1]
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The settlement is located about two kilometres west of Mount Hermon, at an elevation of 1,050 meters (3,440 ft) above sea level. Both El Rom and the nearby moshav Odem are the two Jewish settlements in Israel with the highest elevation, after Nimrod.
The kibbutz was founded in 1971 by a core group of settlers from the Machanot HaOlim Zionist youth movement. Although they had intended to settle in Beit HaArava in the southern Jordan River Valley, they were eventually persuaded to move to the Golan Heights. The original settlement was located in the vicinity of the occupied Syrian town of Quneitra, however, this settlement was destroyed during the Yom Kippur War, and an enormous tank battle was fought in its fields.
El-rom has Mediterranean-type weather, with hot and dry summers followed by cold and humid winters. Being situated at the northern part of the Golan Heights and at an altitude of over one thousand meters above sea level gives it a unique year-round weather in comparison to most of Israel. Summer time, in between May and September, is dry with almost no precipitation at all and temperatures of 25-30 degrees Celsius during the day in the hot months of July and August. Nights are mostly cool due to the continental wind blowing from the vast desert to the east. Winter temperature averages seven degrees Celsius in the cold months of January and February during the day and lows of 2-3 degrees Celsius, at times dropping below zero. The rains start in September and go on until May giving life to the area, filling up the reservoirs and a lot of precious water to the Sea of Galilee. The annual rainfall averages 940 millimeters of rain and occasional snow. Fog is very common throughout the year. In recent years, temperatures are rising and droughts are becoming more frequent because of global warming and the shifting weather patterns.
El Rom has a population of approximately 350 (2005). They have adopted a liberal Zionist philosophy, focusing on tolerance and an ecologically sound integration into the surrounding environment. This is expressed in a local pre-school system developed specifically for the kibbutz's children. The kibbutz is planning (as of 2005) to establish a new neighborhood of one-story homes to the north, which will significantly increase its population.
The economy is based primarily on agriculture. Crops include apples, pears, strawberries, grapes for wine. They also raise cattle for food, and chickens. In 1984, the kibbutz established El Rom Studios to provide an alternative employment opportunities and revenue stream. The studios command a large share of the market for adding subtitles as well as other translation services for film and television. In Israel, since foreign language movies and TV programs are rarely dubbed, there is a constant need to provide these services.
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