Maoz Haim

Maoz Haim
Maoz Haim
Coordinates: 32°29′34.94″N 35°33′2.31″E / 32.4930389°N 35.5506417°ECoordinates: 32°29′34.94″N 35°33′2.31″E / 32.4930389°N 35.5506417°E
Region	Lower Galilee
Affiliation	Kibbutz Movement
Founded	1937
Founded by	Immigrants from Germany and Poland
Website	www.maoz.org.il

Maoz Haim (Hebrew: מָעוֹז חַיִּים, lit. Haim's Fortress) is a kibbutz in Israel. Established in 1937 by immigrants from Poland and Germany, it is located off the Jordan River in the Beit She'an valley and falls under the jurisdiction of Valley of Springs Regional Council. It is named after Haim Shturman, a member of the Hagana, who was killed there in 1938.

There are currently some hundreds inhabitants living in the kibbutz. Aside from agriculture, the kibbutz also has a plastics factory, "Poliraz".

Zakum nature reserve

South of the kibbutz is a small (11 dunam) nature reserve of Balanites aegyptiaca trees, called the Hurshat Zakum (Maoz Haim) reserve, declared in 1968.^[1] (Zakum being the Hebrew name of the tree.) This is probably the northern-most occurrence of these trees in the world.^[2]

Notable residents

• Chava Birnbaum (born as Helene Jerusalem 1923), granddaughter of the Austrian-Jewish philosopher, progressive educationalist and pacifist Wilhelm Jerusalem
• Dvora Omer (born 1932), author
• Ilan Shiloah (born 1957), businessman

Archaeological Excavations

• See article on Maoz Haim Synagogue.

References

1. "List of National Parks and Nature Reserves" (PDF) (in Hebrew). Israel Nature and Parks Authority. Retrieved 2010-10-07.
2. "Zakum (Maoz Haim) Nature Reserve" (in Hebrew). iNature.info. Retrieved 2010-10-07.

External links

• Official website