Beit Hillel
| Beit Hillel בֵּית הִלֵּל | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Beit Hillel | |
| Coordinates: 33°12′27″N 35°36′20.51″E / 33.20750°N 35.6056972°ECoordinates: 33°12′27″N 35°36′20.51″E / 33.20750°N 35.6056972°E | |
| District | Northern |
| Council | Mevo'ot HaHermon |
| Affiliation | Moshavim Movement |
| Founded | 1940 |
| Population (2015)[1] | 765 |
Beit Hillel (Hebrew: בֵּית הִלֵּל) is a moshav in northern Israel. Located on the west bank of the Hasbani River, about 5 kilometres from Kiryat Shmona, its 3,500 dunams fall under the jurisdiction of Mevo'ot HaHermon Regional Council. In 2015 it had a population of 765.[1]
History
The moshav was founded in 1940 as one of the Ussishkin fortresses by a mixed group of immigrants from Europe and native Sabras, for workers in the tower and stockade settlements in the Upper Galilee. It was named after Hillel Yaffe, a doctor who immigrated to Mandatory Palestine during the Second Aliyah. Although it was abandoned after several years, it was resettled by retired soldiers in 1949. During the Independence War in 1948, Beit Hilel was temporarily abandoned due to the battles in the area. At that time, the village had a population of 98 and settled on an area of 1085 dunams (1,085 square kilometers).
Permanent settlement was resumed in 1950. The new inhabitants of Beit Hilel were mainly Jews from Europe who survived the Holocaust.
Today the inhabitants of the moshav make their livelihood from agriculture, breeding cows and tourism. The moshav is considered especially attractive for tourists in northern Israel, mainly because of its location in Upper Galilee between the kibbutzim of Kfar Blum and HaGoshrim and near the Hasbani.
Geography
It lies at an altitude of 85 meters in the northernmost tip of Upper Galilee in the Hula valley at the top of the Jordan River.
The village is located about 3 kilometers east of the town of Kiryat Shmona, about 147 kilometers northeast of Tel Aviv's center and about 72 kilometers northeast of Haifa's center. Beit Hillel is inhabited mainly by Jews, and the settlement in this region is almost entirely Jewish.
Beit Hillel is connected to the transport network via the local road number 9888, which leads north of the village to the 99 motorway leading to the Golan Heights.
In Beit Hillel, pre-school care facilities are available. The primary school is in nearby Kfar Gil'adi. High School in Kfar Blum. Beit Hillel has a synagogue, a health center and a grocery store. The economy of the municipality is based on agriculture and tourism.
Demography
The population of Beit Hillel is secular. According to the 2014 data, the vast majority of Beit Hillel Jews (including the "other" statistical category, which includes non-Jewish inhabitants of Jewish origin but without formal jurisdiction over the Jewish religion), formed the vast majority of the population.
Notable residents
References
- 1 2 "List of localities, in Alphabetical order" (PDF). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 16 October 2016.