Ma'agan Mikha'el

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MA'AGAN MIKHA'EL

MA'AGAN MIKHA'EL (Heb. מַעֲגַן מִיכָאֵל; "Michael's Anchorage"), kibbutz on the seashore of Israel at the southern end of the Carmel Coast, affiliated with Ha-Kibbutz ha-Me'uḥad. Ma'agan Mikha'el was founded in 1949 by the first group of graduates of the Israel boy scout movement, who were later joined by immigrants from different countries. In 1969 Ma'agan Mikha'el had 665 inhabitants. By 2002 the number had increased to 1,290. Its economy was based on fruit plantations, crops, livestock, carp ponds, software, and an injection molding plant for plastic products. A nature reserve is located at Ma'agan Mikha'el, at the split mouth of the Tanninim ("crocodiles") River. The reserve, rich in water fowl, comprises the Yonim ("doves") islet in the sea and the former Kabāra swamps which were drained by the *Palestine Jewish Colonization Association (pica), and hosts many migratory birds. Prehistoric finds were made in the nearby Kabāra caves. The name of the kibbutz commemorates Mikhael Pollak, a director of pica.

website:

maaganm.kibbutz.org.il.

[Efraim Orni]

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