Harashim

Harashim is situated on Mount Shezor in the Upper Galilee at 850 meters above sea level.[2][6] Its climate is rainy and frequently misty, with cold winters and occasional snow.[2] The settlement covers approximately 280 dunams, or 28 hectares.[4][7]

The elevation also affects local agriculture. Grapevines receive greater cold exposure at night even when surrounding areas are hot, a condition considered beneficial for grape-growing.[6]

Harashim was established in 1980 as a rural settlement within the Misgav Regional Council.[3][4] Its name derives from a nearby archaeological tell where finds from the Iron Age included an ancient metalworking workshop. The Hebrew word "harashim" means "blacksmiths."[2][5]

In November 2016, residents were evacuated after a fire broke out in the southern part of the community on a Friday morning. Fifteen firefighting crews, supported by firefighting aircraft, battled the blaze.[8]

An Encyclopedia.com place table recorded 179 inhabitants in Harashim on December 31, 2004.[3] A Jerusalem Post report published in March 2024 described the settlement as home to approximately 380 residents, indicating substantial population growth over the intervening two decades.[4]

Harashim's development has proceeded through successive planning stages. A master plan approved in 2015 provided for 101 housing units. In December 2023, an expansion plan was approved for deposit, adding 133 units: 65 on new plots in the settlement's southern area and 68 on approved plots in its older section.[7] The National Council for Planning and Construction subsequently increased the settlement's overall housing-unit quota from 120 to 250.[4][7]

Planning Administration Director General Rafi Elmaleh and the National Council's chair connected the expansion decisions to attacks on Galilee settlements. They said the plans were intended to strengthen rural settlement in the region and provide housing for new families and the next generation of current residents.[7]

Viticulture is a prominent local activity. The Harashim vineyard described in a Jerusalem Post feature has terra rossa soil, natural woodland surroundings and average annual rainfall of 900 millimeters. It is dry-farmed without irrigation.[2]

Modern winemaking at the site began with Meron Winery. Koby Tuch, a biochemist and biology teacher, spent a year in Switzerland in 1986 and encountered winemaking there. After returning, he planted a vineyard in 1987 and produced his first wine with engineer Alex Barton. Meron Winery was described as Israel's first modern boutique winery, although it later changed ownership and gradually disappeared from the market.[2]

Two Harashim neighbors, Yuval Erlich and Gadi Saar, later found the former Meron vineyard abandoned. Friends since the age of four, they began rehabilitating it when they were 18. They initially sold the grapes before making their first wine: 20 liters of Chardonnay fermented in a glass demijohn. They conducted winemaking experiments in 2009 and were operating as full-fledged winemakers by 2011.[2]

Harashim Winery in Mitzpe Harashim is run by Erlich and Saar using biodynamic methods, including natural composts and the avoidance of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.[2][6] The winery was described as the first Israeli winery to make wine according to a biodynamic protocol.[2] Erlich explained that the biodynamic calendar is influenced by the stars and moon, adding that "it sounds mystical, but it is very scientific."[2] The winemakers seek to integrate their work with the surrounding environment while minimizing damage to it.[6]

A Ministry of Education hiking guide describes a circular trail beginning near the settlement entrance. The route winds through woodland to an observation point overlooking the Lower Galilee and Beit HaKerem Valley, with views extending from the Mediterranean Sea to the Sea of Galilee.[1]

Near the entrance, a path passes the water reservoir and enters the woodland of Mount Shezor. About a minute along the path stands an almost intact stone leopard trap formerly used by Galilee hunters when leopards still roamed the area.[9] The turnoff to Harashim lies shortly after the route from Peki'in, about 300 meters before the turn toward Beit Jann.[5]