SHA'AR HA-AMAKIM (Heb. שַׁעַר הָעֲמָקִים; "Gateway of the Valleys"), kibbutz in northern Israel, on the ridge separating the Zebulun and Jezreel valleys, 1 mi. (2 km.) W. of Kiryat Tivon, affiliated with Kibbutz Arzi ha-Shomer ha-Ẓa'ir. Sha'ar ha-Amakim was founded in 1935 by pioneers from Yugoslavia. In the 1936–39 Arab riots the settlement came under frequent attack in an attempt to dislodge it from its strategic position. In 1970 the kibbutz had 580 inhabitants, maintaining a stable population into the 21^st century. It developed intensive, fully irrigated farming based on field crops, plantations, fishery, and dairy cattle. The kibbutz owned Chromagen Solar Energy Systems, a leader in the field.

WEBSITE:

www.sharmakim.org.il.

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

Sha'ar Ha-Amakim