Tel Yosef is a 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 north-eastern 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 Jezreel Valley

Jezreel Valley

-Etymology:The Jezreel Valley takes its name from the ancient city of Jezreel which was located on a low hill overlooking the southern edge of the valley, though some scholars think that the name of the city originates from the name of the clan which founded it, and whose existence is mentioned in...

, it falls under the jurisdiction of Gilboa Regional Council

Gilboa Regional Council

Gilboa Regional Council is a regional council in northern Israel, located on the slopes of the Gilboa mountain range. There are more than 22,000 residents in 38 settlements as of 2007...

. In 2006 it had a population of 371.

History

The kibbutz was established in 1921 by members of Gdud HaAvoda

Gdud HaAvoda

G'dud HaʿAvodah VeHaHaganah ʿAl-Shem Yosef Trumpeldor , commonly known as Gdud HaAvoda, was a socialist Zionist work group in Mandate Palestine.The group was established on 8 August 1920, with the three focuses of work, settlement and defence...

, and was named after Joseph Trumpeldor

Joseph Trumpeldor

Joseph Trumpeldor , was an early Zionist activist. He helped organize the Zion Mule Corps and bring Jewish immigrants to the Land of Israel. Trumpeldor died defending the settlement of Tel Hai in 1920 and subsequently became a Zionist national hero...

. It was located on Sheikh Hassan hill.

At the time of the 1931 census

1931 census of Palestine

The 1931 census of Palestine was the second census carried out by the authorities of the British Mandate of Palestine. It was carried out on 18 November 1931 under the direction of Major E. Mills. The first census had been conducted in 1922...

, Tel Yosef had 72 occupied houses and a population of 261, all Jews.

In its heyday, it had 600 members. In the early 1950s, an ideological dispute headed by Yitzhak Tabenkin

Yitzhak Tabenkin

-External links:...

 led to a split in which 250 members joined the neighboring kibbutz, Beit Hashita

Beit Hashita

Beit HaShita is a kibbutz between Afula and Beit She'an, Israel founded on 4 December 1928 by members of "Kvuzat HaHugim" and members of "Tnuat HaMahanot HaOlim" from Haifa and Jerusalem. The kibbutz was named after the biblical town of the same name, where the Midianites fled after being beaten...

. Supporters of David Ben-Gurion

David Ben-Gurion

' was the first Prime Minister of Israel.Ben-Gurion's passion for Zionism, which began early in life, led him to become a major Zionist leader and Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization in 1946...

remained at Tel Yosef.

Economy

The first citrus crop was planted in 1931. In 1936, Tnuva opened its first dairy at Tel Yosef, specializing in hard cheeses. In 1942, the kibbutz built the country's first commercial fishponds.