Manara, Israel

Manara stands on the Naftali mountain ridge in the eastern Upper Galilee, beside Israel's border with Lebanon and about 2 kilometres west of Kiryat Shmona.[9][1] Its elevation is reported as approximately 880 metres in one account and 900 metres in another.[3][4] The kibbutz lies alongside Route 886; from its ridge position it overlooks Kiryat Shmona and the Hula Valley, with views extending to Mount Hermon, the Golan Heights, and, on clear days, the Mediterranean Sea.[2][5]

The proximity to Lebanon is extreme: in some places the border is about 70 metres away.[10] A border analysis stated that, since 1982, private dwellings in Manara, Misgav Am, and Avivim had either encroached on the official boundary or come perilously close to it.[11] That proximity, combined with the ridge's elevation, shaped Manara's security exposure during the 2023–2024 conflict. A local emergency-team head said many anti-tank missiles came from the Lebanese village of Meiss al-Jabal and suggested that the high position made Manara easier to target than lower ground.[3]

Manara's housing is unusual among Israeli rural communities. Rather than the detached houses typical of kibbutz construction, it was built largely in residential blocks of up to five storeys, with bridges across the steep terrain leading to middle floors in some buildings. Most homes lacked safe rooms, while schools and other public buildings were directly exposed to fire from Lebanon.[12]

Manara was established in January 1943 by groups from the HaNoar HaOved youth movement and Noar Oleh, including immigrants from Germany and Poland.[1][5] Among its founders was Rachel Rabin, later known as Rachel Rabin Yaakov, who became one of the kibbutz's defining figures.[13][14]

The site was the first settlement on the Ramim ridge, and conditions were formidable.[6] Settlers had to climb a steep, five-mile (eight-kilometre) footpath to reach the location, 2,990 feet (920 metres) above sea level, where winters were snowy and stormy and summer water sources were absent.[1] During its first six years, Manara had no running water, electricity, or roads. Residents carried water from a Shiite village across the border in Lebanon and transported laundry by mule to Kfar Giladi.[6] One resident later recalled: "Even when they established Manara in January 1943 in this cold, there was no state to help them."[8]

The settlement was originally called Ramim, meaning "heights" in Hebrew. It retained that name until 1964, when it adopted Manara, derived from the Arabic toponym al-Manara.[1][5] The kibbutz was affiliated with Kibbutz Meuhad.[1]

Manara's position on the Lebanese border placed it in the fighting during Israel's War of Independence. The kibbutz was frequently attacked by Arab forces and was cut off for a time from other Jewish settlements.[15] During the siege, children and most mothers were evacuated to nearby Kfar Giladi, while Rachel Rabin and other kibbutz members remained, helped defend the settlement, and treated casualties.[14]

Manara lay on a height west of the Metulla–Rosh Pina highway and was approached by a hill track from Nebi-Yusha.[16] On 22 October 1948, after the Negev cease-fire came into effect, Fawzi el-Kaukji's Arab Liberation Army launched a strong attack on the settlement, south of Tel Hai.[16] One reference account states that surrounding positions were occupied by irregular Arab forces in violation of cease-fire arrangements.[1] Israeli troops launched a counter-operation on 29 October, reached the rear of the forces pressing on Manara, and compelled them to flee. The northern cease-fire took effect on 31 October, and the wider Galilee area was secured for Israel in Operation Hiram.[16][5]

Fierce fighting in the Manara area is commemorated by a memorial and remembrance room beside the kibbutz dining hall, honouring members who fell in Israel's wars.[5] The kibbutz's survival under siege became a defining part of its collective identity and was later contrasted with the unprecedented full evacuation of 2023.[2]

Manara had a population of 248 in 2002.[1] It later faced a demographic and organizational crisis as young people left, reducing its official membership to 77, with an average age of 64 and only 10 children. Ninety percent of members voted for privatization, allowing members to own and sell homes and other assets while working outside the kibbutz and contributing their incomes. Over the following decade, the community doubled in size and reached nearly 300 members, including 85 children, according to a 2025 profile.[2]

Other reporting placed the resident population immediately before the 2023 war at 267 and counted 81 children, reflecting differences between membership and residency figures and the dates of measurement.[6] The rise in the number of children followed the refurbishment of a former nursery during a period when only eight children lived in Manara. Four additional families with young children moved to the kibbutz during the war, even as many other prospective admissions stalled.[6]

In the first years after 1948, a pumping installation brought water from the Einan Springs in the Huleh Valley, about 800 metres below the kibbutz. Once a highway was paved, Manara gained access to valley fields and carp ponds in addition to hill farming focused mainly on deciduous fruit.[1] Its historical economic activities also included a metal factory producing electricity grids and control panels, an amplifier-rental service, guest rooms, and a large modern chicken run.[1]

The National Library of Israel holds a collection of 2,581 photographs from Manara's archive, dated 1960–1990, documenting daily life, water, livelihood, education, construction, independence, and members of the kibbutz. The collection is available digitally through a collaboration involving Beit Yigal Allon, Harvard University Library, Israel's Ministry of Heritage, and the National Library.[17]

Manara also appeared in wider Israeli cultural and political debates. In spring 1960, French filmmaker Chris Marker filmed a communal vote conducted by Rachel Rabin Yaakov, who went unnamed in the finished film; the kibbutz members were compared to ascetic pioneers.[13] Several months after the 1981 Israeli elections, television footage showed a Manara member swimming in the kibbutz pool. Menachem Begin later cited the scene in a radio interview as an example of what he called a culture of excess, and the episode became part of a broader political dispute over the kibbutz movement and Israel's social divisions.[18]

Manara's ridge overlooks the Hula Valley, Kiryat Shmona, Mount Hermon, and the Golan Heights, with the Mediterranean Sea visible on clear days.[2][3] Nearby are the ruins of the Crusader castle of Hunin, also known as Chasteau Neuf.[1] Beside the kibbutz dining hall, a memorial and remembrance room commemorates members of Manara who fell in Israel's wars.[5]

Following the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, Hezbollah began firing rockets and missiles at Israeli border communities on 8 October. Manara was among the most exposed settlements in the north.[7][2] At 9 a.m. on 8 October, kibbutz manager Yochai Wolfin messaged about 300 members to pack for two weeks and evacuate to friends or family. The Upper Galilee Regional Council also recommended evacuation, and community instructions asked families to tie a plastic bag to their door handle so officials could identify vacated homes.[2][19] The community was subsequently dispersed across Israel.[19]

Contemporary reports placed Manara's population in a range of roughly 260–280. Calcalist reported 267 residents and later cited 260 evacuees, including 81 children below elementary-school age.[6][12] Ynet reported about 280 residents, while N12 referred to 270.[3][19] The evacuation was unprecedented in Manara's history: apart from the temporary removal of children in 1948, the kibbutz had not previously been emptied during Israel's wars.[2]

Hezbollah's campaign against Manara continued long after the evacuation. On 12 November 2023, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for a mortar attack that injured seven IDF soldiers.[7] Several anti-tank missile launches were recorded in the Manara area on 18 October, followed by two further launches on the morning of 19 October; the IDF returned fire on both occasions.[20] On 25 March 2024, 15 rockets were fired at Manara in a single barrage, after repeated attacks had already damaged dozens of homes.[21] On 10 June, two more anti-tank missiles were fired at the kibbutz. Hezbollah claimed responsibility and described the attack as a response to Israeli strikes in Hula and Sheba in southern Lebanon; there were no reported casualties or known damage in that incident.[22]

Manara's elevation and the orientation of its homes toward Lebanon made it particularly vulnerable. A local emergency-team head said many anti-tank missiles came from Meiss al-Jabal and that the kibbutz's height made it easier to target than lower ground.[3] Three anti-tank missiles struck and destroyed the dining-room kitchen. Part of the kibbutz was declared a closed military zone and fenced off, and eight months after the evacuation only two ordinary members remained living there apart from the local emergency squad.[19]

The scale of destruction to Manara's built environment was extensive, although estimates varied by date and method of measurement. In January 2025, 110 of the kibbutz's 157 homes or apartments were reported damaged, including 38 completely destroyed; all the houses in the area facing Lebanon were reported destroyed. Gas, water, and electricity infrastructure also suffered severe damage, and kibbutz member Igor Abramovich gave an initial rebuilding estimate of at least NIS 150 million.[10]

A September 2024 report said 75% of nearly 200 buildings had been damaged, while a December 2024 account counted 110 of 156 apartments, or about 70%.[3][4] A March 2025 report, citing kibbutz figures, said 96 of 154 homes—62%—had been hit and that 57 were unsuitable for rehabilitation. Government data cited in 2026 placed the share of damaged buildings at 74%.[6][12] These figures reflect different reporting dates and counting methods and should not be treated as directly interchangeable.

As of 1 February 2024, Manara was listed with 121 damaged homes, behind only Metulla and Shlomi among the locations cited in that account.[23] Public buildings, including schools, were exposed to direct fire.[12] The kibbutz kindergarten was destroyed by a Hezbollah missile and reopened in January 2026.[24] Another wartime account estimated that roughly two-thirds of apartments suffered damage ranging from shattered windows to complete destruction.[19]

Displacement did not dissolve Manara's community bonds. The kibbutz organized itself into neighbourhoods, each with a coordinator maintaining contact with members wherever they had settled across Israel. Kibbutz Gadot offered evacuees access to community facilities and kindergartens, and Manara's leadership used it as a gathering base from which to maintain ties among dispersed residents.[19]

A September 2024 report described the establishment of Manara's institutions and offices at Kibbutz Gadot as a deliberate effort to preserve communal life. A WhatsApp group brought together 150 former members, while working teams were formed for fundraising, planning, community resilience, and damage mapping. Community leaders rejected a viral social-media claim that the emergency squad was disintegrating and that residents could not return, while acknowledging the extent of the destruction.[4]

In late December 2024, fifty residents gathered in Manara to work in the community garden: older members prepared a meal while children cleared rocks from garden beds. Resident Orna Weinberg, who had helped save photo albums and transfer the kibbutz archive during the evacuation, said it was the first time since the war began that she had heard people chatting around the kibbutz.[10] The gathering signalled the beginning of a more organized return effort.

Planning for reconstruction began while much of the community remained displaced. The rebuilding plan followed the UN and World Bank "Building Back Better" principles and was estimated at approximately NIS 160 million, excluding infrastructure costs. About NIS 111 million had been secured, leaving a shortfall of roughly NIS 48–49 million. The plan included possible redevelopment of the southern neighbourhood, which had been especially exposed to Hezbollah fire.[6]

To accommodate returning residents ahead of permanent rebuilding, the organization FIRM contributed approximately NIS 20 million toward 25 homes in Manara, Malkia, and Yir'on. Twelve Manara families were scheduled to move into temporary housing in the kibbutz.[8] By September 2026, about 173 people lived in Manara and a further 12 were waiting for housing; 44 residents were children. Nearly 90% of young families with children had returned, and the school was operating, though without transportation services. The community set a longer-term goal of 350–450 residents and more than 100 children, viewing the recruitment of young families as essential to sustaining its education system.[6]

Return rates varied by source and method. One account placed Manara's return rate at around 52%, within a broader estimate that 87% of evacuated northern residents had returned by September 2025.[25] A January 2026 report recorded an official figure of 60%, while a local business owner estimated about 45%.[8] Some families remained hesitant because of Hezbollah's continued presence near the border and fear of renewed attacks.[25]

On 8 January 2026, Israeli President Isaac Herzog attended the reopening of Manara's kindergarten, which had been destroyed by a Hezbollah missile. Herzog recalled visiting the damaged community in December 2024 and said the missile had passed through the kindergarten. At the reopening, he described the children and community as a sign that the border settlement was coming back to life.[24]