Alonim

Alonim (Hebrew: אַלּוֹנִים, lit. Oaks) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the Lower Galilee, it falls under the jurisdiction of Jezreel Valley Regional Council. In 1947 Alonim had a population of over 450; in 2014 it was 476.

History

In the Ottoman era, a village called Qusqus, or Kuskus, was situated here. In 1859, the population was given as 100, with 16 feddans of tillage.

In 1875 Victor Guérin visited, and estimated that the village had 200 inhabitants. In 1881, the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine described Kuskus as an adobe village, in the oak-woods, on high ground.

British Mandate era

In 1925 a Zionist organisation purchased 30 feddans in Kiskis (present Alonim) and Tabon (present Kiryat Tiv'on) from the Sursuk family of Beirut. At the time, there were 36 families living there. From 1931, and lasting several years, the Jewish Agency struggled to evict the tenant farmers from Qusqus, from the land which was to become Alonim.

The Alonim kibbutz was established on 26 June 1938 as part of the tower and stockade settlement campaign. The settlers were the first graduates of Youth Aliyah.