Ma'agan Michael
Ma’agan Michael | |
|---|---|
| Country | Israel |
| Region | Hof HaCarmel Regional Council |
| Affiliation | United Kibbutz Movement (HaMeuhad) |
| Founded | August 25, 1949 |
| Founded by | [members of the Scout Movement (“Tsofim Aleph”)] |
| Website | www.maaganm.com |
Ma'agan Michael (Hebrew: מעגן מיכאל) is an Israeli collective community, or kibbutz, on the shore of the Mediterrranean Sea under the jurisdiction of the Hof HaCarmel Regional Council. Ma'agan literally means anchorage, which lends to the original intent of its first settlers of using the land to make a living from the sea. Michael refers to Michael Polak and was added to the kibbutz' name by the Palestine Immigrant Colonization Association (P I C A) to honor the potential donor.
Location
The original site, allotted by P I C A, was a windswept, treeless sandstone hill located on the coastal plain 30 km south of Haifa and 70 km north of Tel Aviv. Most of this land was reclaimed from Kabarra swamp.
The northern border of Ma'agan Michael is kibbutz Ma'ayan Zvi. The southern border is the Taninim Stream (Crocodile Stream), which is also the northern border of an Arab village called Jisr-e-Zerka.
Nearby Timsah Springs, which originates from the Taninim Stream, is one of the local sources of brackish water for the kibbutz' numerous fishponds (1700 dunams).
The Taninim Nature Reserve lies south of the kibbutz and is the site of an ancient Roman dam and aqueduct, which have been restored by the Department of Antiquities, the Drainage Authorities, and Nature and Parks Authorities.
History
Ma'agan Michael was founded on August 25, 1949 by a group consisting of 154 members and 44 children who had joined together in 1942. These were mainly members of the Scout Movement (Tsofim Aleph).
The group was originally based in a temporary Jewish Agency camp in Pardess Hanna, where they learned the essential skills needed to create an independent settlement, including how to manage citrus groves, cows, sheep, and chickens.
The initial group was joined by a larger group of younger immigrants without their parents from Germany and Austria (Youth Aliyah), and were undergoing preparatory training at Kibbutz Ein Gev. The group stayed in Pardess Hanna until the end of World War II, while several members were sent abroad as emissaries; others joined the Jewish Brigade, the Palmach, worked in other kibbutzim, in the Dead Sea Works at Sdom,or in the newly established Military Industries.
In 1946, the HQ Staff of the Haganah relocated the group to a temporary settlement in Rehovot, which later was known as “Kibbutz Hill”. This settlement was to serve as cover for a secret underground factory to manufacture 9 mm bullets for “Sten” submachine guns. During all this period the kibbutz members lived a double life to keep information of the illicit underground arms factory away from the British Mandatory Forces.
In 1948, the factory was moved to the newly founded Military Industries (TAAS). The site at Kibbutz Hill in Rehovot was preserved as the “Ayalon Museum”.
The first members began settling the present site, erecting the first buildings which consisted of wooden huts prepared by carpenters in Rehovot.
The kibbutz has grown and prospered into the largest kibbutz in Israel with a population of 1,412, consisting of 791 members and candidates for membership, 383 children, plus non-member residents, soldiers, and ulpanists.
In the early years, the kibbutz took in many disadvantaged youngsters and youth groups (youth aliyah). A Hebrew Ulpan was opened, and many ulpan graduates later joined the ranks of the kibbutz membership. The ulpan became very popular and successful, and has completed more than 80 plus 5-month-long courses with thousands of graduates.
Most of the agricultural land of the kibbutz was reclaimed from the Kabarra swampland, which was drained in the 1920s with money from Baron Rothschild, and labor of Jewish pioneers and local Bedouin residents. A small area remains swamplike and is used for pasture for horses and as a nature reserve.
Demographics
Together with the Israel-born members, the kibbutz membership has a heterogeneity of origins.
Many of the founding settlers were from Germany or Austria,
The kibbutz has absorbed members with origins from all over the world. Many members came from Arab countries (Iraq, Tunisia, Morocco).
The founding members of the kibbutz are elderly (over 75 years old). Over the years the kibbutz has managed to have continuous growth and absorb new members, many of whom were born on the kibbutz.
Kibbutz Ma'agan Michael frequently holds the record for the largest number of kibbutz births.
Unlike many other kibbutzim, a very high percentage of our children have remained on the kibbutz to become members.