Yizre'el



Yizre'el is a kibbutz in north-eastern Israel. Located in the Jezreel Valley near Afula, it falls under the jurisdiction of Gilboa Regional Council. In it had a population of.

History

The kibbutz was established on 20 August 1948 by demobilised Palmach soldiers just to the west of the remains of the depopulated Palestinian village of Zir'in, the remains of which were still to be seen in 1984. It was named after the ancient city of Jezreel, which was located in the area allotted to the tribe of Issachar. It was one of the first kibbutzim to abandon the system of children sleeping in communal houses, instead allowing them to live with their parents.

Economy

A major branch of the kibbutz economy is Maytronics, which manufactures a robot swimming pool cleaner exported to over 34 countries. Maytronics also has a division for pool safety, including pool alarms and automatic pool covers.
Yizre'el has been a major centre for rugby union in Israel since the 1970s, when a group of local South Africans helped give the national game a major push.

Notable residents