Harel, Israel

Harel הַרְאֵל
Harel
Coordinates: 31°48′34.19″N 34°57′0.35″E / 31.8094972°N 34.9500972°ECoordinates: 31°48′34.19″N 34°57′0.35″E / 31.8094972°N 34.9500972°E
District	Jerusalem
Council	Mateh Yehuda
Affiliation	Kibbutz Movement
Founded	1948
Founded by	Demobbed Palmach soldiers
Area	12,000 dunams (12 km^2 or 5 sq mi)
Population (2007)	149
• Density	12/km^2 (32/sq mi)

Harel (Hebrew: הַרְאֵל, lit. Mountain of God) is a kibbutz in central Israel. Located near Latrun with an area of 12,000 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In 2007 it had a population of 149.

The village was established in 1948 in the Judean Hills. It was named for the Harel Brigade of the Palmach. The founders were demobilised Palmach soldiers and immigrants from Poland and Hungary.

Harel is built on the land of the depopulated Palestinian village of Bayt Jiz.^[1]

Beit-Ha'Kshatot ("House of the Arches") where Meir Tobianski was executed (1948)

The building where Yitzhak Rabin commanded the Harel Brigade in 1948 is located on the grounds of the kibbutz. A pre-Roman wine press was discovered in the kibbutz vineyards.^[2]

Clos de Gat winery, established in 1999, produces around 50,000 bottles annually. The grapes come from 130 dunams of vineyards on the outskirts of the kibbutz.^[3]

References

1. Morris, 2004, p. xxi: settlement #33, October 1948.
2. Wineries
3. Clos de Gat Winery

Bibliography

• Morris, Benny (2004), The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-00967-6