KIRYAT ANAVIM

KIRYAT ANAVIM (Heb. קִרְיַת עֲנָבִים; "Vineyard City"), kibbutz in the Judean Hills, 8 mi. (12 km.) W. of Jerusalem, affiliated with Iḥud ha-Kevuẓot ve-ha-Kibbutzim, founded in 1920 by Third Aliyah agricultural workers from Eastern Europe, who were later joined by immigrants from other countries. The initiative for founding a kibbutz at this spot came from akiva ettinger , who wished to work out methods for modern hill farming, land reclamation, and afforestation. As the Zionist institutions had insufficient means to aid the settlers, who in the initial years suffered severe hardships, they proposed transferring the kibbutz to a better site in the Jezreel Valley, but the settlers insisted on staying on until their hill farm would become established. The development of deciduous fruit orchards, vineyards, and dairy cattle made Kiryat Anavim an important supplier to the population of Jerusalem. In the israeli War of Independence (1948), the kibbutz defended a highly endangered position and served as a base for Operations Naḥshon and Makkabi – the first steps in opening the Jerusalem Corridor. In addition to field crops, the kibbutz operated factories manufacturing insulation and silicone products and ran a resort for which the woodland in the vicinity formed a suitable setting. Its population was 301 in 1968 and 314 in 2002. -WEBSITE: www.kiryatanavim.homestead.com . (Efraim Orni)