Kiryat Shmona

Kiryat Shmona from Tel Hai

The town of Kiryat Shmona was established in 1949[2] on the site of the former Arab village al-Khalisa, whose inhabitants had fled after Safed was taken by the Haganah during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and an attempt by the village to come to an agreement with the Jewish authorities was rejected.[3] Literally The town of the Eight, Kiryat Shmona was named after eight Jewish militiamen, commanded by Joseph Trumpeldor, who had fallen in the 1920 Battle of Tel Hai during the Franco-Syrian War adjacent to the new town. It had originally been named Kiryat Yosef for Trumpeldor before the name was changed to Kiryat Shmona in June 1950.[4]

Initially the empty houses of Khalisa were used as a transit camp for Jewish immigrants and refugees who worked mainly in farming. It was called Kiryat Yosef after Yosef Trumpeldor. The first residents were fourteen Yemenite Jews who arrived on July 18, 1949 and were followed by more Yemenite Jews a month later. By July 1951, the population had grown to nearly 4,000.[4] Relationships with nearby kibbutzim were often strained.[4]

In 1953, Kiryat Shmona become a development town.[5] In the first few years, the town's growth was driven by the arrival of immigrants from Yemen and Romania, but later on, waves of immigrants from North Africa, in particular from Morocco, arrived. The city was built without a master plan, but rather neighborhood by neighborhood as waves of immigrants arrived.

Kiryat Shmona in 1964

Kiryat Shmona's location close to the Lebanon makes it a rich target for rocket fire cross-border attacks.

On April 11, 1974, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command, sent three members across the border from Lebanon to Kiryat Shmona. They killed eighteen residents of an apartment building, including many children, before being killed in an exchange of fire at the complex, which became known as the Kiryat Shmona massacre.[6]

The city continued to be the target of attacks after this, including Katyusha rocket attacks by the PLO in July 1981,[7] a Katyusha rocket attack by the PLO in March 1986 (killing a teacher and injuring four students and one adult),[8][9][10] and further Katyusha rocket attacks by Hezbollah during 1996's Operation Grapes of Wrath.[11] The citizens of the town had suffered almost daily attack from the mid-1970s until 2000, when the IDF left Lebanon.

In spite of attacks from Lebanon, the town steadily grew. It had a population of 11,800 in 1972, which grew to 15,100 in 1983.

In the years 2000–06, the locals enjoyed relative peace but suffered from loud explosions every few weeks because of Hezbollah anti-aircraft cannons fired at IAF planes flying across the Israeli-Lebanese border.

During the 2006 Lebanon War, the city was again the target of Hezbollah Katyusha rocket attacks. Most of the city's residents left the area during the war, and the 5,000 who remained stayed in bomb shelters, turning the city into a ghost town.[12] During the war, a total of 1,012 Katyusha rockets hit Kiryat Shmona.

According to CBS, as of 2000, in the city there were 8,303 salaried workers and 467 are self-employed. The mean monthly wage in 2000 for a salaried worker in the city is 4,306 shekels, a real change of 4.6% over the course of 2000. Salaried males have a mean monthly wage of 5,443 shekels (a real change of 7.1%) versus 3,065 shekels for females (a real change of −2.2%). The mean income for the self-employed is 6,769. There are 564 people who receive unemployment benefits and 1,655 people who receive an income guarantee.

Lab of Meytav, Israel's largest technology incubator, based in Kiryat Shmona (2007).

Kiryat Shmona has diverse economic activities among its inhabitants. The town's economy is based on both light industry, involving consumer-oriented products such as communications, information technology, and electronics as well as agriculture on the surrounding lands and tourism.

The town has a cable car link with Manara above in the Naftali mountain range and also is home to an activity center and toboggan run located in the south of the town.

Kiryat Shmona Historical Museum, formerly the al-Khalsa Mosque

In the residential area there is an urban natural space called Park HaZahav. Zahav means "gold" in Hebrew; the park is named after the stream running through it – Ein Zahav Stream – the source of which is Ein Zahav ("golden spring"). Park HaZahav covers 11 hectares in the middle of the city. It comprises many diverse natural resources. In addition to intensive activity areas designated for leisure and play, and open to all, the park contains a diverse, protected, natural area comprising Ein Zahav Stream and HaTachanot Stream (Tachanot refers to two water mills [tachana=mill] which were active along this stream in the past), which flow through the middle of the park. These streams have created different aquatic habitats, including shallow sections, rapids, deep sections and pools that support diverse riparian vegetation that has developed with time into a riparian forest. This isn't common in Israel. The park has a trail that goes through the forest and along the stream. Included in the park are different gardening initiatives by local volunteers, a picnic area, and a playground. The park is used for educational purposes by the community.