Avihayil

Avihayil
אֲבִיחַיִל
Avihayil
Coordinates: 32°21′1.44″N 34°52′19.56″E / 32.3504000°N 34.8721000°ECoordinates: 32°21′1.44″N 34°52′19.56″E / 32.3504000°N 34.8721000°E
Council Hefer Valley
Affiliation Moshavim Movement
Founded July 19, 1932
Founded by Jewish Legion veterans
Population (2012) 1,394[1]

Avihayil (Hebrew: אֲבִיחַיִל, lit. Father of strength) is a moshav in central Israel. Located to the north-east of Netanya, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hefer Valley Regional Council. In 2012 it had a population of 1,394.[1]

History

In 1921 veterans of the Jewish Legion of World War I settled on desert land allocated to it by the British Mandate government in the northeastern Negev, near Tel Arad. However, the settlement was abandoned after no water was found.

As part of the Settlement of the Thousand scheme, a new village was founded in the Emek Hefer on 19 July 1932 on a stretch of sand dunes on land owned by the Jewish National Fund. The founders were members of the Zion Mule Corps and the Jewish Brigade under the command of John Henry Patterson.[2]

In 1946 Avihayil merged with the neighboring moshav, Ein HaOved. The founders were immigrants from Canada, Russia and the United States, as well as several native Israelis. In 1967 there were 605 inhabitants, and its economy was based on intensive mixed farming including citrus. It established "Beit HaGedudim", a museum of the Jewish Legion and clubhouse for veterans.

In 1947, Avihayil had a population of 600. [3]

In December 2014, Patterson's remains were reinterred at the moshav cemetery in the presence of the Israeli prime minister and other dignitaries.[4]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Locality File" (XLS). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. 2012. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
  2. Remains of ‘godfather of Israeli army’ buried in Israel
  3. Jewish National Fund (1949). Jewish Villages in Israel. Jerusalem: Hamadpis Liphshitz Press. p. 7.
  4. Remains of ‘godfather of Israeli army’ buried in Israel
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