Sha'ar HaGolan

Sha'ar HaGolan was founded on 21 March 1937 by members of the Hashomer Hatzair youth movement from Czechoslovakia and Poland. The founders met and were organized as a team in 1930 in Rishon LeZion and were called "Ein Hakore" until 1937, when they established the kibbutz as a tower and stockade settlement.

During the Battles of the Kinarot Valley in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the defenders of Sha'ar HaGolan and of neighbouring kibbutz Masada, after withstanding a first Syrian attack and further aerial bombardment and shelling, retreated due to lack of reinforcement and direction. The kibbutzim were captured and briefly held by the Syrian Army, during which time they were looted and burned down. Although the members soon returned, a stigma was attached to them, and vindication in the form of released military records only arrived in recent years.Nadav G. Molchadsky (2015), "Living in the Shadow of Shame: Masada and Sha’ar ha-Golan," in History in the Public Courtroom: Commissions of Inquiry and Struggles over the History and Memory of Israeli Traumas (Ph.D. Dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles), pp. 76-118. Also see [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/objects/pages/PrintArticleEn.jhtml?itemNo=703004 Zionist mythology destroys its children] Haaretz, 6 April 2006

The main source of income is a plastics engineering factory. The kibbutz also grows bananas, avocado and watermelons, and has a herd of dairy cows. Another economic sector is tourism, one of the attractions is a museum of Yarmukian culture exhibiting pre-historic Neolithic findings discovered along the banks of the Yarmuk River.[http://archaeology.huji.ac.il/golan/index.htm Archaeological Excavations at Sha`ar Hagolan - A Neolithic Art Center in the Jordan Valley, Israel] Hebrew University of Jerusalem Established in the 1950s, it was Israel's first museum of prehistory.{{cite web|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1041614.html|title=For All Tastes|publisher=Haaretz|author=Vered, Ronit}}

{{Main|Sha'ar HaGolan (archaeological site)}}

Excavations at Sha'ar HaGolan archaeological site unearthed an 8,000-year-old village and artifacts that include the first pottery cooking pots found in the Land of Israel. This Neolithic Yarmukian village was inhabited by the people who abandoned their nomadic lifestyle in favor of permanent settlement, marking the shift from hunting and gathering to agriculture.

In July 2022, archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced the discovery of an 8,000-years-old "Mother goddess" figurine at Sha'ar HaGolan archaeological site. Anna Eirikh-Rose, co-director of the excavation reported that the 20-centimeter long figurine covered by a bracelet with a red bottom was found broken into 2 pieces. It was sculpted in a sitting position with big hips, a unique pointed hat and what is known as 'coffee-bean' eyes and a big nose.{{Cite web |title=8,000-year-old Yarmukian 'Mother Goddess' figurine uncovered in Israel |url=https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-711462 |access-date=2022-07-31 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=kayra |first=oguz |date=2022-07-08 |title=8,000-year-old Yarmukian 'Mother Goddess' figurine discovered in Israel |url=https://arkeonews.net/8000-year-old-yarmukian-mother-goddess-figurine-discovered-in-israel/ |access-date=2022-07-31 |website=Arkeonews |language=en-US}}

File:מסדה - הקמת חומת המגן (מרחוק עין הקורא)-JNF009776.jpeg|Sha’ar HaGolan from Kibbutz Masada 1937

File:שער הגולן (נוסד בידי חברי "עין הקורא") - מראה כללי-JNF009512.jpeg|Sha’ar HaGolan 1937

File:Sha'ar Hagolan 004.jpg|Sha'ar HaGolan 1937

File:Sha'ar Ha Golan 003.jpg|The watchtower being erected at Sha'ar HaGolan, 21 August 1937

Kibbuz Sha'ar HaGolan-06-Gaestehaus-2010-gje.jpg|Guesthouse

Kibbuz Sha'ar HaGolan-36-Aloe-2010-gje.jpg|Canteen

Kibbuz Sha'ar HaGolan-16-Kindergarten-2010-gje.jpg|Kindergarten

Kibbuz Sha'ar HaGolan-18-Postfaecher-2010-gje.jpg|Postboxes

Kibbuz Sha'ar HaGolan-34-Chorisia Insignis-2010-gje.jpg|Chorisia Insignis

Kibbuz Sha'ar HaGolan-38-Aloe-2010-gje.jpg|Aloe

Kibbuz Sha'ar HaGolan-24-Kunst-2010-gje.jpg|Artwork

Kibbuz Sha'ar HaGolan-44-Sabbatfeier-2010-gje.jpg|Sabbath celebration

• Miriam Roth

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.shaar-hagolan.co.il/ Official website]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20050921085253/http://www.elmulgolan.co.il/welcomeie.html El Mul Golan]
• [http://www.pexgol.com/ Golan Plastic Products]

{{Emek HaYarden Regional Council}}

{{Jewish_villages_depopulated_during_the_1948_Palestine_war}}

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Category:Kibbutzim

Category:Kibbutz Movement

Category:Populated places established in 1937

Category:Jewish villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War

Category:Prehistoric sites in Israel

Category:Archaeological sites in Israel

Category:Neolithic settlements

Category:Populated places in Northern District (Israel)

Category:1937 establishments in Mandatory Palestine

Category:1948 disestablishments in Israel

Category:Czech-Jewish culture in Israel

Category:Hungarian-Jewish culture in Israel

Category:Slovak-Jewish culture in Israel

Category:Yarmukian culture