Background Kabara concession The area was previously known as
Kabara, or Zor al-Zarqa (the latter referring to the
Zarqa River). The land was either mostly rocky and hilly, or marshland, and was regarded by the Mandate government, which had maintained the
Ottoman Land Code of 1858, as
mawat (uninhabited/uncultivated). A
government concession was leased to the
Palestine Jewish Colonization Association (PJCA or PICA) in 1921. Throughout the Mandate the British authorities and PICA attempted to enter into settlements with the local population, and subsequently to remove them from the land. The PICA undertook
land amelioration projects by draining the Kabbara marshes in the 1920s and foresting some parts of Barrat Qisarya, but the Arab population remained in place until the end of the Mandate period. The Kabarra swampland was drained in the 1920s with money from
Baron Rothschild, and labor of Jewish pioneers and local Bedouin residents.
1948 war and aftermath The area was depopulated of its Arab residents during the
1948 Palestine war, with the exception of the 'Arab al-Ghawarneh tribe, and in 1949-51 three new Jewish settlements were established in the area, with Ma'agan Michael being the first one.
Settlement group before 1949 The group which would eventually establish the settlement at its permanent location in 1949, first joined together in 1942, most of its members coming from the
Hebrew Scouts. The group was originally based in a temporary
Jewish Agency camp in
Pardes Hanna, where they learned the skills needed to create an independent settlement, including how to manage citrus groves, cows, sheep, and chickens. The initial group was joined by a larger group of younger immigrants without their parents from
Germany and
Austria (
Youth Aliyah), and were undergoing preparatory training at
Ein Gev. The group stayed in Pardess Hanna until the end of
World War II, while several members were sent abroad as emissaries; others joined the
Jewish Brigade, the
Palmach, worked in other kibbutzim, in the
Dead Sea Works at
Sdom, or in the newly established Military Industries. In 1946 the HQ Staff of the
Haganah relocated the group to a temporary settlement in
Rehovot, at a site which later was known as "Kibbutz Hill". This settlement was to serve as cover for a secret underground factory manufacturing 9mm ammunition for
Sten submachine guns. During this period the kibbutz members lived a double life to keep information of the illicit arms factory from the British Mandate Forces. In 1948 the factory was moved to the newly-founded Military Industries (TAAS). The site at Kibbutz Hill in Rehovot is currently preserved as the
Ayalon Museum.
Foundation at current site (1949) Ma'agan Michael was officially founded on 25 August 1949, when the first members began settling the present site by erecting there wooden huts prepared by carpenters in Rehovot. The kibbutz started with a total of 154 members and 44 children.
Early years In the early years the kibbutz took in many disadvantaged youngsters and youth groups (youth aliyah). An
ulpan was opened, and many ulpan graduates later joined the ranks of the kibbutz membership. The ulpan became popular and successful, and has completed more than 100 5-month-long courses with thousands of graduates. Most of the agricultural land of the kibbutz was reclaimed from the Kabarra swampland, most of which had been drained in the 1920s (see above).
1978 massacre On 11 March 1978, eleven
Palestinian militants landed in
Zodiac boats on a beach just outside Ma'agan Michael and from there ventured towards
Tel Aviv in a hijacked bus in what has become known as the
Coastal Road massacre where 38 Israelis were killed. First, however, the terrorists shot and killed American nature photographer
Gail Rubin, who was photographing wildlife on the beach at the kibbutz for a book.
Recent evolution The kibbutz has become the largest
kibbutz in Israel with a population of 1,412, consisting of 791 members and candidates for membership, 383 children, plus non-member residents, soldiers, and ulpanists. The kibbutz engaged in internal talks regarding the desire for change based on providing the members with a greater choice in their decisions and their budgets, greater privatization, and less dependence on others. They adopted a decision regarding the dining room and increasing options by paying for food. All these changes are being approached slowly and deliberately to try to preserve the kibbutz's communal values. ==Geography==