Yesod HaMa'ala
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Yesod HaMa'ala | |
| Hebrew | יסוד המעלה |
| Government | Local council |
| District | North |
| Population | 1,200 (2004) |
| Jurisdiction | 12,000 dunams (12 km²) |
Located in the Hula Valley, Yesod HaMa'ala is the first modern Jewish community in the Hula Valley. Built in 1883, the community was among a series of agricultural settlements founded during the First Aliyah. This was a period of increased Jewish immigration to Israel between 1882 and 1904. At the time, the Hula Valley comprised mostly of swampland and the shallow Lake Hula, which comprised of 15,000 acres (61 km²). The region was a well-known breeding ground for mosquitoes. As a result, concerns about malaria restricted further Jewish settlement in the region for fifty years.
In the 1920s, with improved drainage technology and pesticide use, the settlement of the Hula Valley increased. To defend themselves against Arab attacks, the communities organized militias, most notably the Hashomer. After securing the valley in the War of Independence, the state of Israel set up an ambitious program in 1951 to expand agricultural land in the region by draining Hula Lake and the swamp around it. Considering the valley to be a unique ecosystem and an important resting place for migrating birds, scientists lobbied the government to set aside a small portion of the swamp as a nature preserve. In 1964, the 800 acre (3.2 km²) Hula Valley Nature Reserve opened as the country’s first nature preserve. In the place of Lake Hula, the smaller Lake Agmon was created as part of the nature preserve.
With the activation of the National Water Carrier in 1964, Syrian efforts to distrupt drainage patterns into the Kineret (Sea of Galilee) were accompanied by attacks against Israeli farming and fishing activities in the region. Three years later, Syrian forces were repelled further from Yesod Hama’ala with the capture of the Golan Heights.
On July 22 2006, a series of Katyusha attacks by Hezbollah struck communites in the Hula Valley, located in northern Israel. In the community of Yesod Hama’ala, one person was lightly wounded from rocket shrapnel. Prior to the bombings, the community has not seen any hostile attacks since the Six Day War in 1967. On July 29, three rockets hit Yesod Hama'ala, lightly wounding a woman and damaging property.
Yesod Hama’ala is also home to the Dubrovin Estate. This museum commemorates the founders of the community, containing the possessions and furniture from 19th century Russia, where most of the founders lived prior to Israel. Part of the museum includes ruins of a synagogue dating between the 4th and 6th centuries, highlighting the historic Jewish claim to the region.
 |
||
| Cities | Afula | Acre (Akko) | Bet She'an | Karmiel | Kiryat Shmona | Ma'alot-Tarshiha | Migdal HaEmek | Nahariya | Nazareth | Nazareth Illit | Safed | Sakhnin | Shagor | Shefa-'Amr (Shfar'am) | Tamra | Tiberias |  |
| Local councils | Abu Sinan | Ajar | Arrabe | Basmat Tiv'on | Beit Jann | Bir al-Maksur | Bu'eine Nujeidat | Buq'ata | Deir Hanna | Dvorya | Eilabun | Ein Knaya | Ein Mahal | Fassuta | Ghajar | Hurfeish | Hazor HaGelilit | I'billin | Iksal | Ilut | Judeide-Makr | Julis | Ka'abiyye-Tabbash-Hajajre | Kabul | Kafar Kanna | Kaokab Abu al-Hija | Katzrin | Kfar Kama | Kfar Manga | Kfar Tavor | Kfar Vradim | Kfar Yasif | Kineret | Kisra-Sumei | Maghar | Ma'ilya | Majdal Shams | Mas'ada | Mashhad | Mazra'a | Metula | Mevo Hama | Migdal | Nahf | Peki'in | Ra'ama | Reineh | Ramat Yeshi | Rosh Pinna | Sajur | Sha'ab | Shelomi | Shibli-Umm al-Janam | Tuba-Zangariyye | Tur'an | Yafi'a | Yanuh-Jat | Yavne'el | Yesod HaMa'ala | Yirka | Zarzir | |
| Regional councils | Al-Batuf | Bet Shean Valley | Bustan al-Marj | Northern Jordan Valley (Emek Hayarden) | Gilboa | Golan | Jezreel Valley | Lower Galilee | Upper Galilee | Ma'ale Yosef | Mateh Asher | Megiddo | Merom HaGalil | Mevo'ot HaHermon | Misgav | |
 |
This geography of Israel article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
