Massadah
MASSADAH
MASSADAH (Heb. מַסָּדָה), kibbutz in northern Israel, in the Jordan-Yarmuk valley, affiliated with Iḥud ha-Kevuẓot ve-ha-Kibbutzim. Massadah was founded in 1937, during the Arab riots, as a *stockade and watchtower by pioneers from Poland. In the Israel *War of Independence the village had to be evacuated before the onslaught of the Syrian army (May 1948) and was completely razed, but the site was taken back 24 hours later by Israel forces and the kibbutz was rebuilt. After the *Six-Day War (1967), the village came frequently under shelling. Its farming was based on avocado and palm plantations, citrus groves, field crops, and dairy cattle. The kibbutz also operated guest rooms. In 1968 the population of the kibbutz was 285. In the mid-1990s it rose to 350, but then dropped to 288 in 2002.
website:
www.massada.co.il.
[Efraim Orni /
Shaked Gilboa (2nd ed.)]