Ayelet HaShahar

Ayelet HaShahar (Hebrew: איילת השחר, lit. 'Hind of the Dawn') is a kibbutz in northern Israel acquired in 1892 and settled in the second Aliyah, located on the Korazim Plateau, by the Rosh Pina – Metulla road, it is approximately 35 kilometres (22 mi) south of the city of Kiryat Shmona and falls under the jurisdiction of Upper Galilee Regional Council. In 2022, it had a population of 1,154.^[1]

Ayelet HaShahar איילת השחר
Hebrew transcription(s)
• official	Ayyelet HaShahar
Etymology: Hind of the Dawn
Ayelet HaShahar Show map of Northeast Israel Ayelet HaShahar Show map of Israel
Coordinates: 33°1′22″N 35°34′39″E
Country	Israel
District	Northern
Council	Upper Galilee
Affiliation	Kibbutz Movement
Founded	1915
Founded by	Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants
Population  (2022)[1]	1,154
Website	www.ayelet.org.il

Etymology

The name of the kibbutz, literally Hind of the Dawn, is taken from the first line of Psalm 22 in reference to Najmat es-Subh (Arabic: نجمة الصبح, lit. 'Star of the Dawn'), the original name of the land on which the kibbutz is located.^[2]

History

House in Ayelet HaShahar

The land was bought by the Jewish Colonization Association in 1892, and first settled by immigrants from Europe in 1915 during the Second Aliyah period. A census conducted in 1922 by the British Mandate authorities, recorded a population of 78 Jews.^[3] During the end of the British mandate, the kibbutz was the staging ground for Palmach operations: Night of the Bridges and the bombing of the Yarmuk Bridge (16–17 June 1946).^{[citation needed]}

After the 1947–1949 Palestine war, Ayelet HaShahar took over the land from the newly depopulated Palestinian village of Yarda.^[4]

• 
  Ayelet HaShahar, 1919
• 
  Ayelet HaShahar, 1937
• 
  Ayelet HaShahar, 1939
• 
  Palmach youth group at Ayelet Hashahar, 1946
• 
  Yiftach 3rd Battalion. Ayelet HaShahar, 1948
• 
  Collecting stray camels. Ayelet HaShahar, 1948

Economy

Ayelet HaShahar is one of the larger fruit producers in Israel. They also raise dairy cattle and poultry, and manage beehives (the kibbutz is a major producer of Israel's honey). There are fish ponds, which take water from canals that drain the nearby Hula Valley swamps.

Landmarks

Tel Hazor, the capital of Canaanite Galilee, lies opposite the kibbutz. The Archaeological Museum of Hatzor is located at the kibbutz. Antiquities from Tel Hazor are displayed, but many of the original artifacts are actually at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

Notable people

• Suki Lahav (born 1951), singer, songwriter, violinist, actress and novelist
• Avshalom Okashi (1916–1980), artist^[5]