Ramat David

Ramat David
Ramat David
Coordinates: 32°40′43″N 35°12′14″E
Country	Israel
District	Northern
Council	Jezreel Valley
Affiliation	Kibbutz Movement
Founded	1926
Population  (2022)[1]	582

Ramat David (Hebrew: רָמַת דָּוִד, lit. 'David Heights') is a kibbutz in northern Israel.[2] Located in the Jezreel Valley near Ramat David Airbase, it falls under the jurisdiction of Jezreel Valley Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 582.[1]

History

The kibbutz was established in 1926, and was named after David Lloyd George, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom when the Balfour Declaration was made. The German-Jewish architect Richard Kauffmann drew up plans for the design of Ramat David in 1931.[3]

The British author Roald Dahl landed his RAF Hurricane at the British Mandate airstrip at Ramat David early in 1941.[4] He describes the German Jewish refugee children living there at that time in his autobiography Going Solo.[5]

On 22 May 1948 Egyptian planes attacked the airbase, damaging and destroying a number of British Royal Air Force planes.[6]

Notable people

Ruth Westheimer

• Ze'ev Herring (1910–1988), politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Alignment between 1969 and 1974
• Ruth Westheimer (1928–2024), sex therapist, talk show host, author, professor, Holocaust survivor, and former Haganah sniper[7]
• Zvi Yanai (1935–2013), civil servant and author

Gallery

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  Ramat David 1936
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  Ramat David 1936
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  Ramat David 1936
• 
  Ramat David dining hall 1940
• 
  Ramat David military camp 1940

References

1. "Regional Statistics". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
2. Lungen, Paul (January 18, 2019). "Israeli Irrigation Company to Be Listed on TSX". Canadian Jewish News. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
3. Burmil, Shmuel; Enis, Ruth (2011). The Changing Landscape of a Utopia: The Landscape and Gardens of the Kibbutz, Past and Present. Wernersche. ISBN 9783884622841.
4. Ashkenazi, Eli (July 22, 2011). "From Roald Dahl to Ezer Weizman: Historic Air Force Building at Ramat David to Be Preserved". Haaretz. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
5. Dahl, Roald (2012). Going Solo. Penguin UK. ISBN 9780141965338.
6. Michael Napier (2018) The Royal Air Force: A Centenary of Operations p167
7. The Chutzpah That Made Dr. Ruth the Real Wonder Woman Haaretz, 6 July 2019