Usha 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 the western Galilee

Galilee

Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...

 area of Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

. Located near the city of Kiryat Atta, it falls under the jurisdiction of Zevulun Regional Council

Zevulun Regional Council

Zevulun Regional Council is a regional council in the Haifa District of Israel. Founded in 1950, it had a population of 10,900 in 2006.The council borders Mateh Asher Regional Council to the north, Jezreel Valley Regional Council and Shefa-'Amr to the east, Carmel Nature Reserve national park and...

. In 2006 it had a population of 350.

History

The kibbutz was founded on 9 November 1937 as a 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...

 settlement by a Polish

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...

 gar'in group formed in 1930. Prior to the establishment of the kibbutz, they had organised themselvs in several moshavot

Moshava

A moshava , plural: Moshavot is a form of rural settlement in Israel.In a moshava, as opposed to communal settlements like the kibbutz and the moshav, all the land and property are privately-owned. The first moshavot, described as "colonies" in professional literature, were established by...

 in the Sharon area, including Kfar Sava, Magdiel

Magdiel

Magdiel is a Youth Aliyah boarding school in Hod Hasharon, Israel. It was established as a home and school for children who survived the Holocaust...

 and Petah Tikva

Petah Tikva

Petah Tikva known as Em HaMoshavot , is a city in the Center District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv.According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2009, the city's population stood at 209,600. The population density is approximately...

. The founders were members of the Hanoar Hatzioni

Hanoar Hatzioni

Hanoar Hatzioni is a youth movement established in 1926, with its head offices now in Israel. Its three main pillars are Judaism, Pluralism, and Zionism...

 youth group, and it was the first kibbutz established by the organisation (Other kibbutzim founded by Hanoar Hatzioni are: HaSolelim, Kfar Glikson, Tel Yitzhak, Nitzanim and Ein HaShlosha). Its name was taken from the ancient Jewish city of Usha, which remained in the Arab village Hawsha

Hawsha

Hawsha was a Palestinian village located east of Haifa, about above sea level. It contained a maqam for Nabi Hushan, and a number of ancient ruins, including rock-cut tombs, and a mosaic floor....

 that was located nearby.

During 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...

 Usha and Ramat Yohanan

Ramat Yohanan

Ramat Yohanan is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located near Kiryat Ata, it falls under the jurisdiction of Zevulun Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 751....

 were attacked by the Druze

Druze

The Druze are an esoteric, monotheistic religious community, found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, which emerged during the 11th century from Ismailism. The Druze have an eclectic set of beliefs that incorporate several elements from Abrahamic religions, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism...

 battalion of the Arab Liberation Army

Arab Liberation Army

The Arab Liberation Army , also translated as Arab Salvation Army, was an army of volunteers from Arab countries led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji...

, though the residents of the two settlements managed to repel the attack.