Tel Katzir

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Tel Katzir
Telkatzir.jpg
Tel Katzir is located in Northeast Israel
Tel Katzir
Tel Katzir
Coordinates: 32°42′21″N 35°37′5″E / 32.70583°N 35.61806°E / 32.70583; 35.61806Coordinates: 32°42′21″N 35°37′5″E / 32.70583°N 35.61806°E / 32.70583; 35.61806
CountryIsrael (Claimed by Syria as Syrian territory occupied by Israel)
DistrictNorthern
CouncilEmek HaYarden
Syrian GovernorateQuneitra
AffiliationKibbutz Movement
Founded1949
Founded byHebrew Scouts
Population
 (2019)[1]
417

Tel Katzir (Hebrew: תֵּל קָצִיר, lit. "Harvest Hill") is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located to the south of the Sea of Galilee, it falls under the jurisdiction of Emek HaYarden Regional Council. In 2019 it had a population of 417.[1]

History[]

Located near the depopulated Palestinian village of Samakh, the village was founded in 1949 by a gar'in of Hebrew Scouts and a kvutza of youths from kibbutz Afikim.[2] Its name was adapted from the Arabic name for the area, Tell al-Qasr, and also symbolises agriculture. Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion refused to accept the name, insisting that it should be called Beit Katzir because it was not a real tell. However, after the kibbutz's secretariat noted that Tel Aviv was not a real tell, and that Ramat Gan (lit. Garden Heights) was not hilly, they eventually won recognition of their preferred name.

There is a small museum in the kibbutz about its history and the period between 1948 and 1967.[3]

Due to the fact it was situated in the Israel–Syria demilitarised zone under the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Tel Katzir was claimed by Syria as its territory during negotiations for a peace agreement in the 1990s. The Israeli government rejected the claims, as it would have led to Syria having territory west of the 1923 border between Mandatory Palestine and the French Mandate of Syria.

Notable people[]

  • Eli Hurvitz (1932–2011), industrialist; Chairman of the Board and former CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries
  • Mark Regev (born 1960), formerly Mark Freiberg, is the official spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Israel. In 1982 he emigrated to Israel and lived and worked at kibbutz Tel Katzir

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Population in the Localities 2019" (XLS). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  2. ^ Khalidi, Walid (1992), All That Remains, Washington D.C.: Institute for Palestine Studies, p. 538, ISBN 0-88728-224-5
  3. ^ Museum information Israel Places
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