Yesud HaMa'ala

Yesud HaMa'ala יְסוּד הַמַּעֲלָה‎ يسود حمالاه
Local council
Hebrew transcription(s)
• ISO 259	Ysud ha Maˁla
Yesud HaMa'ala Show map of Northeast Israel Yesud HaMa'ala Show map of Israel
Coordinates: 33°3′22″N 35°36′15″E / 33.05611°N 35.60417°E / 33.05611; 35.60417
Country	Israel
District	Northern
Founded	1882; 142 years ago (1882)
Area
• Total	11,587 dunams (11.587 km2 or 4.474 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[1]
• Total	1,798
• Density	160/km2 (400/sq mi)

Yesud HaMa'ala (Hebrew: יְסוּד הַמַּעֲלָה) is a moshava and local council in northern Israel. The moshava was 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.^[2] In 2022 it had a population of 1,798.

Etymology

The name of the village was taken from a sentence in the

Christian Zionist Laurence Oliphant donated 1,000 roubles to the founding settlers of Yesud Hama’Ala.^[3]

A census conducted in 1922 by the British Mandate authorities, recorded a population of 142 Jews.^[4] With the activation of the National Water Carrier in 1964, Syrian efforts to disrupt drainage patterns into the 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 Yesud HaMa'ala with the capture of the Golan Heights during the 1967 Six-Day War.

On 22 July 2006, a series of Katyusha attacks by Hezbollah struck communities in the Hulah Valley during the course of the 2006 Lebanon War. In Yesud HaMa’ala, one person was lightly wounded from rocket shrapnel. Prior to the bombings, the community had not seen any hostile attacks since the Six-Day War in 1967. On 29 July three rockets hit Yesud HaMa'ala, lightly wounding a woman and damaging property.

Landmarks

Yesud HaMa'ala is home to the Dubrovin Farm, a museum commemorating the founders of the community, containing personal possessions and furniture from 19th century Russia. Part of the museum includes ruins of a synagogue dating between the 4th and 6th centuries, highlighting the historic Jewish claim to the region. Tel Hazor is very close, even closer than to Hatzor HaGlilit which is named after it (when Yesud HaMa'ala was founded the Tel was not excavated yet).

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yesod HaMa'ala.