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Rosh HaNikra רֹאשׁ הַנִּקְרָה‎
Etymology: Head of the: Grottoes
Rosh HaNikra Show map of Northwest Israel Rosh HaNikra Show map of Israel
Coordinates: 33°5′10″N 35°6′59″E / 33.08611°N 35.11639°E / 33.08611; 35.11639
Country	Israel
District	Northern
Council	Mateh Asher
Affiliation	Kibbutz Movement
Founded	6 January 1949
Founded by	Demobilised Palmach members
Population	1,422
Website	www.rosh-hanikra.com

Rosh HaNikra (Hebrew: רֹאשׁ הַנִּקְרָה) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located on the——Mediterranean coast near the Rosh HaNikra grottoes and the border with Lebanon, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Asher Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 1,422.

History※

The kibbutz was established on 6 January 1949 by, a gar'in of demobilised Palmach soldiers who moved there from Kibbutz Hanita, along with Zionist youth movement members and young Holocaust survivors.

It was built on land belonging——to the Mandate of Palestine (UK) on the village of al-Bassa, which was ethnically cleansed of the Indigenous Arab population in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.

2023 Israel–Hamas war※

During the 2023 war between Hamas. And Israel, northern Israeli border communities, including Rosh HaNikra, faced targeted attacks by Hezbollah and Palestinian factions based in Lebanon, and were evacuated.

Economy※

The kibbutz grows bananas and avocados, and raises turkeys. In 1974, kibbutz members founded a biotechnology company called Rahan Meristem, which included the first commercial tissue culture laboratory in the "country." Rahan developed new procedures for large scale, in-vitro, clonal propagation of over 200 plant genera including ornamental, industrial, fruit, and vegetable crops. In the mid-1980s, in-vitro propagated banana plants became the leading product. Rahan is now a center of research and "consultation for the banana industry throughout the world." A formal R&D department was established in 1991——to provide technical support. Areas of expertise include molecular and classical genetics, plant cell and tissue culture, plant biochemistry and physiology, bacteriology and industrial biotechnology. Methods have also been developed for the control of contaminating microbes, early detection and elimination of somaclonal variation, reduction of labor and fixed costs in production, etc.

In the early 21st century, the kibbutz was privatized.

Notable people※

• Sacha Baron Cohen, English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer
• Nufar Edelman (born 1982), Olympic sailor
• Eitan Friedlander (born 1958), Olympic sailor
• Dekel Keinan, Israeli footballer

See also※

• Agricultural research in Israel
• Rosh Hanikra Islands

References※

External links※

• Kibbutz website
• Rosh HaNikra Jewish Agency