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Kfar Giladi

KFAR GILADI (Heb. כְּפַר גִּלְעָדִי), kibbutz in Northern Israel, on the N.W. rim of the Ḥula Valley, affiliated to Iḥud ha-Kevuẓot ve-ha-Kibbutzim. Founded in 1916 on Jewish Colonization Association (ICA) land, Kfar Giladi was established by Hashomer (Guardsmen Association) to guard outlying Jewish land in the area during World War I and to increase the food supply to the starving yishuv.

By 1919, two more small outposts, one of them Tel Ḥai, were established in the vicinity. When the area was marked for inclusion in the French Mandate territory of Syria, Arabs revolting against the French in 1920 attacked these Jewish settlements. Kfar Giladi had to be temporarily abandoned, but the settlers returned 10 months later.

In 1926, the settlements of Kfar Giladi and Tel Ḥai merged.

During World War II (1941), Kfar Giladi, together with Metullah, guarded the country's northern border against an invasion of Vichy French troops.

In 1946, Kfar Giladi suffered casualties when British forces besieged and searched the kibbutz, known for its assistance in organizing illegal Jewish immigration across the nearby border.

In 1952, Kfar Giladi decided to join Iḥud ha-Kevuẓot ve-ha-Kibbutzim after the split in Ha-Kibbutz ha-Me'uḥad movement.

In 1968, the kibbutz had 680 inhabitants, in the mid-1990s the population was approximately 710, but, by 2002, it had dropped to 559. Its economy is based mainly on irrigated field crops, deciduous fruit orchards, dairy cattle, and fishery. Kfar Giladi also runs a quarry, plant nursery, and rest home. The kibbutz is named after Israel Giladi, one of the founders of Hashomer.


Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2007 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.