HaGoshrim

HaGoshrim (Hebrew: הַגּוֹשְׁרִים, lit. 'The Bridge Builders') is a kibbutz in the Galilee Panhandle in northern Israel, 5 km (3 miles) east of Kiryat Shmona. The kibbutz is adjacent to the Hurshat Tal National Park and bisected by tributaries of the Jordan River, the Snir (Hatsbani), Koren, itself a tributary of the Dan and Tal.^[2] In 2023 it had a population of 1,263.^[1]

HaGoshrim הגושרים‎
HaGoshrim Show map of Northeast Israel HaGoshrim Show map of Israel
Coordinates: 33°13′15″N 35°37′25″E
Country	Israel
District	Northern
Council	Upper Galilee
Affiliation	Kibbutz Movement
Founded	1948
Founded by	Turkish Jews
Population  (2023)[1]	1,263
Website	www.hagoshrim.co.il

History

Kibbutz HaGoshrim was founded in 1948 mostly by Jewish immigrants from Turkey. The kibbutz was established partly on the lands of the former Palestinian village of al-Khisas, which was depopulated and destroyed during the 1948 Palestine war.^[3][4] The kibbutz opened a hotel in the manor house of Emir Faour, chief of the al-Fadel tribe, for whom the villagers worked as tenant farmers.^[5]

Economy

The chief economic branches are agriculture and tourism. The kibbutz also owns Mepro, which manufactures carpenters' levels and military optics, and the Epilady company, established in 1986.^[6] Epilady is a hand-held device developed by two Israeli engineers that revolutionized hair removal.^[7]

Archaeology

Excavations at the Neolithic site of Hagoshrim in 2003 yielded a large assemblage of skeletal fragments, mainly of cattle and pigs, providing evidence of the domestication of these taxa in the southern Levant.^[8]