Afikim
|
Afikim אֲפִיקִים |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
 Afikim
|
|
| Coordinates: 32°40′46.56″N 35°34′40.08″E / 32.6796000°N 35.5778000°ECoordinates: 32°40′46.56″N 35°34′40.08″E / 32.6796000°N 35.5778000°E | |
| Region | Jordan Valley |
| Affiliation | Kibbutz Movement |
| Founded | 1932 |
| Founded by | Russian members of Hashomer Hatzair |
| Population (2015) | 1,474 |
Afikim (Hebrew: אֲפִיקִים) is an Israeli kibbutz affiliated with the Kibbutz Movement located in the Jordan Valley three kilometers from the Sea of Galilee. It is within the jurisdiction of the Emek HaYarden Regional Council. In 2015 it had a population of 1,474.
The name Afikim means "riverbeds", and refers to the Jordan River and its tributary, the Yarmuk River.
Russian Jews affiliated with the Hashomer Hatzair movement organised in 1924 and settled in the area of Wazia in the Upper Galilee. In 1932 the group moved to its current location on a tract of land belonging to Degania Bet, where it absorbed groups from the Poale Zion movement and Hechalutz. Yisrael Hofesh, one of the founders of the kibbutz, who died in 2011 at the age of 107, helped to establish the banana industry and worked in the plywood factory run by the kibbutz.
During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Afikim was subjected to frequent shelling by Syrian and Iraqi forces, and was a stronghold of Palmach activity. Afterwards it was a center for agricultural training for IDF soldiers who planned to join kibbutzim after demobilization. During the split of the Kibbutz Meuhad movement, Afikim, unlike many other kibbutzim, did not split up into two villages. Rather it joined the Mapai-affiliated faction which went on to found the Ihud Kibbutzim. In 1977, Afikim hosted 66 refugees from Vietnam. In 2011, the kibbutz accepted 100 new members.
...
Wikipedia