Rosh HaNikra (kibbutz)
Rosh HaNikra
| |
|---|---|
| Etymology: Head of the Grottoes | |
| Country | Israel |
| Council | Mateh Asher |
| Region | Western Galilee |
| Affiliation | Kibbutz Movement |
| Founded | January 6, 1949 |
| Founded by | Demobilised Palmach members |
| Population (2009) | 1,143 |
| Website | www.rosh-hanikra.com |
Rosh HaNikra (Template:Lang-he-n) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located on the Mediterranean coast near the Rosh HaNikra grottoes and the border with Lebanon, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Asher Regional Council. In 2009 it had a population of 1143.
History
The kibbutz was established on the lands of the destroyed and depopulated Palestinian Village of Al-Bassa on 6 January 1949 by a gar'in of demobilised Palmach soldiers who moved there from Kibbutz Hanita, along with Zionist youth movement members and young Holocaust survivors. The Palmach soldiers, whom were responsible for the expulsion, alongside "pioneering Zionist youth movements, 'made the dessert bloom' by uprooting the ancient olive trees of al-Bassa to clear the ground for a banana grove, as required by the 'planned farming' principles of Rosh Haniqra" [1]
Economy
The kibbutz grows bananas and avocados, and raises turkeys. In 1974, kibbutz members founded a biotechnology company called Rahan Meristem, which included the first commercial tissue culture laboratory in the country. Rahan developed new procedures for large scale, in-vitro, clonal propagation of over 200 plant genera including ornamental, industrial, fruit and vegetable crops. In the mid-1980s, in-vitro propagated banana plants became the leading product. Rahan is now a center of research and consultation for the banana industry throughout the world. A formal R&D department was established in 1991 to provide technical support. Areas of expertise include molecular and classical genetics, plant cell and tissue culture, plant biochemistry and physiology, bacteriology and industrial biotechnology. Methods have also been developed for the control of contaminating microbes, early detection and elimination of somaclonal variation, reduction of labor and fixed costs in production etc.[2]
In the early 21st century, the kibbutz was privatized.
Notable residents
- Sacha Baron Cohen[3]
- Nufar Edelman (born 1982), Olympic sailor
- Dekel Keinan
See also
References
- ^ Meron Benvenisti, Sacred Landscape. The Buried History of the Holy Land since 1948 (Berkeley, CA: California U.P. 2000), p 2.
- ^ Matimop, Rahan Meristem
- ^ Heller, Aron. [1]: Israelis Dig 'Borat,' Jokes in Hebrew. 2006-12-14. Retrieved on 2008-12-29
External links
- Kibbutz website
- Rosh HaNikra Jewish Agency