Ginosar

This article is about the kibbutz. For other uses, see Ginosar (disambiguation).

Ginosar גִּנּוֹסַר‎
Ginosar Show map of Northeast Israel Ginosar Show map of Israel
Coordinates: 32°50′51″N 35°31′22″E
Country	Israel
District	Northern
Council	Emek HaYarden
Affiliation	Kibbutz Movement
Founded	25 February 1937
Founded by	Young socialists
Population  (2022)[1]	625
Website	www.ginosar.org.il

Yigal Allon Museum

Ginosar (Hebrew: גִּנּוֹסַר) is a kibbutz in the Plain of Ginosar on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in Israel. Located north of Tiberias on Highway 90, it falls under the jurisdiction of Emek HaYarden Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 625.^[1]

History

Roman period

In the first century AD there was a flourishing town known by Greek and Latin speakers as Gennesaret, with one single mention in the New Testament (Matthew 14:34), for which but a few papyri use the form "Gennesar". The modern kibbutz takes its name from this ancient town, though it is not located at precisely the same site.

British Mandate

Ginosar was founded on the eve of Purim in March 1937 by a group of young Socialist Zionists, on Palestine Jewish Colonization Association (PICA) land that had been leased to the settlement of Migdal.

The reason given for "squatting" was that the leased area needed close protection during the "disturbances" (1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine).^[2] The original was built as a "Tower and Stockade" settlement, was closely aligned with the Mapai party,^[3] and was the home of Yigal Allon, commander of the "Syrian Department" of the Palmach, and later a senior minister in the government of Israel.

• 
  Ginosar1937. "Tower and Stockade" wall under construction
• 
  Ginosar 1937. Watchtower under construction
• 
  Palmach, 11th Company, doing morning exercises at Ginosar, 1947

State of Israel

Ginosar was originally an agricultural community; now its primary source of income is from tourism. During a severe drought in 1986 the level of lake dropped to reveal the frame of a fishing boat that has since been carbon dated to 100 BCE to 70 CE, and is now known as the Sea of Galilee Boat. Using innovative techniques the boat frame was rescued, the boat was placed in a special tank, and it is displayed in the Beit Yigal Allon Museum.^[4]

Notable people

• Yigal Allon (1918–1980), politician, commander of the Palmach, and general in the IDF
• Barak Lufan (1987-2022), kayaker

References

1. "Regional Statistics". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
2. Anita Shapira (2007) Yigal Allon, Native Son: A Biography, Translated by Evelyn Abel University of Pennsylvania Press, ISBN 0-8122-4028-6 pp 53-54
3. "Heaven on Earth: the Rise and Fall of Socialism". PBS. Archived from the original on 2014-10-19. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
4. Israel Handbook: With the Palestinian Authority Areas, by Dave Winter

External links

• Official website
• Article on the Kibbutz and its history