Alona Regional Council

Alona Regional Council (Hebrew: מועצה אזורית אלונה) lies in the Haifa District, bordered by Zikhron Ya'akov, Giv'at Ada–Binyamina, Menashe Regional Council, Megiddo Regional Council, and Hof HaCarmel Regional Council.[4] Its three constituent communities — Aviel, Amikam, and Givat Nili — are all moshavim belonging to the Mishkei Herut movement.[1]

The council's total area covers approximately 27,000 dunams, a landscape that combines agricultural land, open spaces, and Mediterranean natural woodland.[1] Part of the population is engaged in agriculture, with vineyard cultivation and the growing of deciduous fruit trees among the principal activities.[1] The council's mailing address is listed as Moshav Amikam, D.N. Menashe 37830.[5]

The council received municipal status in 1953.[1] A notable early milestone was a 1956 visit by Israeli President Yitzhak Ben-Zvi and his wife, Rachel Yanait, documented in the Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi archival collection (code IL-INL-YBZ-0126) held by the National Library of Israel.[6] That collection, containing 255 items spanning 1932 to 1957, also records the council hosting dignitaries, representatives of ethnic communities, and artists — among them the American dancer Martha Graham.[6]

A 2005 Ministry of the Interior jurisdiction inquiry examined boundary discrepancies between Alona and Megiddo Regional Council, specifically addressing agricultural areas cultivated by Ammiqam and areas associated with Gilad Kibbutz.[4] The committee recommended adjustments that would transfer certain Ammiqam-cultivated areas to Alona while leaving another disputed area within Alona's jurisdiction.[4]

In August 2023, the Interior Minister announced that merger examinations would follow the local elections. On July 17, 2024, Interior Ministry Director-General Ronen Peretz signed the appointment of an advisory geographic investigation committee tasked with examining a possible merger of Alona Regional Council with Menashe Regional Council.[7] The committee's findings are advisory; the Interior Minister and ministry director-general retain authority to approve, partially approve, or reject any recommendations.[7]

Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics 2015 socioeconomic-index table recorded the three localities separately: Giv'at Nili (locality code 360) with a population of 733 and a socioeconomic cluster of 7; Aviel (locality code 679) with a population of 817 and a cluster of 8; and Ammiqam (locality code 773) with a population of 707 and a cluster of 8.[8] These figures, which exclude residents of nursing homes, penitentiary institutions, and similar institutions, sum to 2,257 across the three localities.[8]

A separate government socioeconomic dataset reported a combined figure of 2,169 for Alona as a whole, also at cluster 8.[9] Data available in January 2020 put the council's population at approximately 2,280 residents in about 590 households.[10] Arieh Sharon served as council head in both the 2018 and 2024 local elections.[11]

Agriculture remains a defining feature of life in the council's three moshavim, with vineyard cultivation and deciduous fruit trees representing significant activities.[1] The council's stated development priorities include agriculture and rural tourism, preservation of the agricultural-rural-community character and natural assets of the area, education and culture, infrastructure, the environment, and quality of life.[1]

Community life encompasses communal events and gatherings, activities for children and youth, and a senior citizens' center.[1] Since 1996, a red-kestrel conservation and education program has operated at the Alona school, involving fifth-grade pupils, local residents, the Ministry of Education, and the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel.[12] The program became part of the national "Spread Your Wings" project, run jointly by the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, and the Israel Electric Corporation.[12] The program's account contrasts roughly 100 pairs formerly nesting in the area with no more than about 30 pairs at the time described; pupils build nest boxes, survey and map nesting sites, and monitor the birds through a nesting season running from mid-February to early July.[12]

Alona Park occupies the northern part of the council's territory and contains a Mediterranean woodland alongside an archaeological site from the Roman period.[1] Within the park lies the Mi Kedem water tunnel, part of a Roman-Byzantine waterworks system extending more than 23 kilometers, historically linked to the ancient water-supply network serving Caesarea.[1] The system supplied both drinking water and irrigation water, and its construction is associated with significant population growth in Caesarea.[1] Restoration work reconstructed approximately 280 meters of a tunnel from a six-kilometer section; guided visits are available, though the tunnel is completely dark and water depth can reach approximately 70 centimeters, with exits at the midpoint and after 200 meters.[1]

Alona Forest is described as a forest and nature reserve in northwestern Ramat Menashe, considered a remnant of the oak forest that covered the northern Sharon and Ramat Menashe roughly a century ago.[3] The reserve features Tabor oak and Palestine oak, abundant flowering in winter and spring, and broad, level dirt roads and trails suited to cycling.[3]

The Taninim Stream runs through the council's territory and is described by the council as one of the cleanest and most attractive streams in Israel.[1]

Round Hill, located east of Moshav Amikam within Alona Park, commemorates Staff Sergeant Reuven Galkin, a native of Amikam born on June 5, 1954, who was killed during the Yom Kippur War on October 18, 1973.[13] The site was recognized in 2019 by the Jewish National Fund and the Ministry of Defense as a memorial site for Battalion 890, and the summit was made accessible to the public in 2021.[13]