Mishmar HaEmek is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the western Jezreel Valley, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Megiddo Regional Council. Mishmar HaEmek is one of the few kibbutzim that have not undergone privatization and still follow the traditional collectivist and socialist kibbutz model. In 2022, it had a population of 1,278. At least six former members of the Knesset hail from Mishmar HaEmek.
View of Mishmar HaEmek's new neighborhood
Mishmar HaEmek 1926
Mishmar HaEmek with Manasseh Heights in the background, 1933
Mishmar HaEmek 1934
A kibbutz is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism. In recent decades, some kibbutzim have been privatized and changes have been made in the communal lifestyle. A member of a kibbutz is called a kibbutznik, the suffix -nik being of Slavic origin.
Kibbutz Kfar Masaryk
Second Aliyah workers eating lunch in the fields of Kibbutz Migdal, 1912
Degania (later Degania Alef), sometimes considered the first kibbutz, in 1910
Kibbutz Lotan