Amir, Israel
Encyclopedia
Amir is a kibbutz
in northern Israel
. Located in the Finger of the Galilee
near Kiryat Shmona
, it falls under the jurisdiction of Upper Galilee Regional Council
. In 2006 it had a population of 545. The kibbutz is on the eastern bank of the Jordan River in the Hula Valley, and has views of snow-topped Mount Hermon to the northeast, and the Ramat Naftali to the west.
The village was established on 29 October 1939 on land, purchased by the Jewish National Fund
from the Arab village of Khiyam al-Walid
. It was the last of the tower and stockade
settlements, and the only one to be established during World War II
. Its founders were immigrants
from Lithuania
and Poland
, later joined by German
and Yugoslav
settlers. Initially they suffered from outbreaks of malaria, but managed to establish an intensively cultivated farm. According to a 1949 report from the Jewish National Fund, an clinic was opened at Amir for the treatment of malaria and eye diseases by a professor from Hebrew University. Until the beginning of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war
treatment there for neighboring Arab villagers was free.
A photo in the June 1940 edition of Life Magazine shows a kibbutz member plowing the heavy soil with a primitive plow pulled by two water buffalo. Due to its location, the kibbutz was affected by floods every winter, and in 1942 was moved to its present location on land bought from another Arab village, al-Dawwara
.
Several important women artists are associated with Kibbutz Amir. Israeli jewelry artist Deganit Stern Schocken was born at Kibbutz Amir in 1947; she now teaches and works in Hadera. Israeli ceramicist, designer and filmmaker Shlomit Bauman was born at Kibbutz Amir in 1962; she now lives and works in Jaffa. American photographer Annie Leibovitz
worked as a volunteer at Kibbutz Amir in 1969, and gelatin silver prints of her photos taken during her stay are now part of the collection of the Jewish Museum in New York.
A disposable diaper factory, originally owned by the kibbutz, was privatized in 2003. On July 15, 2006 a missile fired from Lebanon hit Kibbutz Amir, destroying the factory. The missile struck on Saturday, so no one was in the factory at the time and no lives were lost. The factory was located about 400 meters from the residential part of the kibbutz. Four days later, another missile hit a cow shed, killing two dozen dairy cows; again no people were killed or injured despite the proximity of the explosion to the residential part of the kibbutz.
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
in northern Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. Located in the Finger of the Galilee
Finger of the Galilee
The Finger of the Galilee is a panhandle along the Hula Valley in northern Israel. It contains the towns Metula and Kiryat Shmona and the rivers of Dan and Banias...
near Kiryat Shmona
Kiryat Shmona
Kiryat Shmona is a city located in the North District of Israel on the western slopes of the Hula Valley on the Lebanese border. The city was named for the eight people, including Joseph Trumpeldor, who died in 1920 defending Tel Hai....
, it falls under the jurisdiction of Upper Galilee Regional Council
Upper Galilee Regional Council
The Upper Galilee Regional Council is a regional council in Israel's Upper Galilee region.The area has a population of 15,500 and has been headed for 14 years by Aharon Valenci. Its headquarters are located in Kiryat Shmona, an independent city not included in the council's jurisdiction.-Regional...
. In 2006 it had a population of 545. The kibbutz is on the eastern bank of the Jordan River in the Hula Valley, and has views of snow-topped Mount Hermon to the northeast, and the Ramat Naftali to the west.
The village was established on 29 October 1939 on land, purchased by the Jewish National Fund
Jewish National Fund
The Jewish National Fund was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Palestine for Jewish settlement. The JNF is a quasi-governmental, non-profit organisation...
from the Arab village of Khiyam al-Walid
Khiyam al-Walid
Khiyam al-Walid was a Palestinian Arab village in the District of Safad located northeast of Safad along the Syrian border. It was on situated on a hill above sea level on the eastern edge of the Hula Valley. In 1945, there were 280 predominantly Muslim inhabitants...
. It was the last of the tower and stockade
Tower and stockade
Tower and stockade was a settlement method used by Zionist settlers in the British Mandate of Palestine during the 1936–39 Arab revolt, when the establishment of new Jewish settlements was restricted by the Mandatory authorities...
settlements, and the only one to be established during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Its founders were immigrants
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
from Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
and Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, later joined by German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
and Yugoslav
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
settlers. Initially they suffered from outbreaks of malaria, but managed to establish an intensively cultivated farm. According to a 1949 report from the Jewish National Fund, an clinic was opened at Amir for the treatment of malaria and eye diseases by a professor from Hebrew University. Until the beginning of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war
1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
treatment there for neighboring Arab villagers was free.
A photo in the June 1940 edition of Life Magazine shows a kibbutz member plowing the heavy soil with a primitive plow pulled by two water buffalo. Due to its location, the kibbutz was affected by floods every winter, and in 1942 was moved to its present location on land bought from another Arab village, al-Dawwara
Al-Dawwara
Al-Dawwara was a Palestinian Arab village in the District of Safad. It was depopulated during the 1948 War on May 25, 1948 by the Palmach's First Battalion of Operation Yiftach...
.
Several important women artists are associated with Kibbutz Amir. Israeli jewelry artist Deganit Stern Schocken was born at Kibbutz Amir in 1947; she now teaches and works in Hadera. Israeli ceramicist, designer and filmmaker Shlomit Bauman was born at Kibbutz Amir in 1962; she now lives and works in Jaffa. American photographer Annie Leibovitz
Annie Leibovitz
Anna-Lou "Annie" Leibovitz is an American portrait photographer.-Early life and education:Born in Waterbury, Connecticut, Leibovitz is the third of six children. She is a third-generation American whose great-grandparents were Jewish immigrants, from Central and Eastern Europe. Her father's...
worked as a volunteer at Kibbutz Amir in 1969, and gelatin silver prints of her photos taken during her stay are now part of the collection of the Jewish Museum in New York.
A disposable diaper factory, originally owned by the kibbutz, was privatized in 2003. On July 15, 2006 a missile fired from Lebanon hit Kibbutz Amir, destroying the factory. The missile struck on Saturday, so no one was in the factory at the time and no lives were lost. The factory was located about 400 meters from the residential part of the kibbutz. Four days later, another missile hit a cow shed, killing two dozen dairy cows; again no people were killed or injured despite the proximity of the explosion to the residential part of the kibbutz.