Sasa, Israel

Sasa
Sasa
Coordinates: 33°1′36.83″N 35°23′40.2″E / 33.0268972°N 35.394500°E / 33.0268972; 35.394500Coordinates: 33°1′36.83″N 35°23′40.2″E / 33.0268972°N 35.394500°E / 33.0268972; 35.394500
District	Northern
Council	Upper Galilee
Affiliation	Kibbutz Movement
Founded	January 1949
Founded by	Hashomer Hatzair members
Population (2015)	398[1]
Website	www.sasa.org.il

Sasa (Hebrew: סָאסָא‎) is a kibbutz in the Upper Galilee area of northern Israel. Located one mile from the border with Lebanon, it falls under the jurisdiction of Upper Galilee Regional Council. In 2015 it had a population of 398.^[1]

History

Members of Kibbutz Sa'Sa.1948

The modern kibbutz was founded in January 1949 by a gar'in of North American Hashomer Hatzair members on the land of the depopulated Palestinian village of Sa'sa'.^[2] Sa'sa' was demolished by the Israeli Seventh Brigade and Oded Brigade on October 30, 1948. Sa'sa' surrendered without resistance and allegations of Israeli atrocities later surfaced.^[3] Many of the villagers from Sa'sa live in Nahr al-Bared, a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon,^[4] although some resettled in nearby Jish.

Kibbutz Sasa, 1949

On the grounds of the kibbutz is the alleged tomb of rabbi Levi ben Sisi, who is actually known to have died in far-away Babylonia during the first half of the third century.^[5]

In 1992, the Palestinian historian Walid Khalidi described the remains of Sa'sa' village: "Some of the old olive trees remain, and a number of walls and houses still stand. Some of the houses are presently used by the kibbutz; one of them has an arched entrance and arched windows. A large portion of the surrounding land is forested, the rest is cultivated by Israeli farmers."^[6] The village mosque has been converted into the kibbutz museum.

Economy

U.S. Ambassador Dan Shapiro visiting Plasan, 2012

Sasa operates Plasan, a plastics factory that manufactures vehicle armour. The company, which is shared between some 100 families, is now a world leader in armor protection technology for vehicles. The kibbutz has signed contracts worth billions of dollars with major clients,^[7]including the U.S. military.^[8]

Other branches of the economy include a dairy, in cooperation with kibbutz Tuval; a beef herd; fruit trees (kiwi, apple, avocado and grapefruit); Bereshit, a fruit marketing company in cooperation with three other kibbutzim; and Sasa Tech, a manufacturer of technical and home care products.^[9] Buza, a chain of ice cream shops founded by a Sasa resident, runs a branch on the kibbutz and offers ice cream workshops.^[10]

References