Yehiam was founded by a group of the
socialist Zionist Hashomer Hatzair youth movement—
Holocaust survivors from
Hungary and members from
Yishuv—who named themselves
Kibbutz HaSela (lit.
The Rock), whereas "kibbutz" is still understood here as a wandering "collective", not as a settlement. placing the kibbutz within the envisaged Arab state, rather than the Jewish one. The new name, Yehiam, was adopted in honour of Yehiam Weitz, son of
Jewish Agency official
Joseph Weitz, who had been killed not far away, near the Arab village of
al-Kabri, in the "
Night of the Bridges", a
Palmach operation which took place on 16–17 June 1946. The decision to establish the new kibbutz was taken after consultations with Joseph Weitz. File:יחיעם - סלילת כביש ליחיעם-JNF004450.jpeg|
Khirbat Jiddin 1947 File:יחיעם - ביום העליה ליחיעם, מטבח ארעי בתוך מבצר ג'ידין-JNF036185.jpeg|Interior of castle used as kitchen 1946 File:Kibbutz Yehiam.jpg|Members of Kibbutz Yehiam, December 1946 File:Yehiam.jpg|
Palmach, C Company, on training expedition approach Yehiam Fortress. No date File:Kibbutz Yehiam ii.jpg|Members of the Palmach at Kibbutz Yehiam in 1948 The initial attempt to use the surviving rooms of the castle almost ended in disaster, as the ticks left behind by the herds of goats sheltered here by the local Bedouins during the winter months were carriers of disease, and after a month and a half 20 members had already fallen ill with fever. Injections of
penicillin, the just recently introduced wonder drug, saved their lives. On 20 January 1948, 200–300 troops of the
Arab Liberation Army's Second Yarmuk Regiment based in
Tarshiha attacked Yehi'am, armed with mortars, machine guns and rifles. The force surrounded the kibbutz from all sides and blocked all the access roads. A platoon of British soldiers exchanged fire with the Arab regiment, which withdrew and tried to attack again the following night but was repulsed by a reinforcement of
Haganah fighters. photo On 27 March 1948, a Haganah convoy was sent to bring supplies to the kibbutz which was besieged by Arab forces. The
Yehiam convoy, consisting of five trucks and an armored car, was ambushed by 250 Arabs near al-Kabri. The incident was reported on 29 March in
The Scotsman: :"The second ambush occurred at Kabri, near Naharia, seven miles north of Acre. Here the bodies of 42 Jews were found near five burnt out lorries. It is stated that in this action a column of six Jewish lorries were ambushed by 250 Arabs who were armed with rifles, two inch mortars, and light machine guns. The column, escorted by an armoured car, was attacked an hour before sunset on Saturday night. A British flying column was sent to relieve the Jews but failed to reach them, it is reported. British artillery then opened fire with 12-lb and 25-lb high-explosive shells, and the Arabs withdrew." The founders of Kibbutz Yehi'am lived in tents among the ruins. A small kitchen provided meals with airlifted supplies. They were highly visible to the Arab troops stationed on the hills, who subjected the fortress to heavy fire. Communication with the outside world was through bonfires, flashlight signals and
pigeon posts to
Nahariya and
Kiryat Haim. While defending themselves, Yehi'am members worked the land, growing vegetables, grapes and peaches. During
Operation Dekel the
Israeli army conquered and forcibly evacuated the
Bedouin village of
Khirbat Jiddin on 10–11 July 1948. Several operations later, the entire Galilee was eventually taken by Jewish forces during
Operation Hiram between 29 and 31 October 1948. After the
1948 Arab–Israeli War, new houses were built, including the first children's house.
Hashomer Hatzair groups joined from different parts of Israel, as well as
Aliya of that same movement from
Cuba,
France,
Uruguay,
Argentina,
Mexico,
Colombia and
Venezuela. ==Economy==