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During the last five years of the 19th Century, the settlement of Eretz Israel stalled in its tracks. In 1900 Baron Rothschild, "the famous patron", decided to transfer the activities of his settlements to the hands of JCA - the Jewish Colonization Association. JCA appointed the manager of the Segera Farm, Haim Margaliot Kalvariski, to establish new villages in the Lower Galilee.
On October 7th 1901, the Yavne'el village (Yamma) was established on land that was purchased from the Delaike Tribe by the settlers from Horan who were joined later by a group of settlers that had been evacuated from Metulla. On October 25th 1901, the Kefar Tavor village (Mescha) was established by the settlers from Rosh Pinna, Zikhron Yaacov, Metulla and Shefeya. The land for this village had been purchased from the Arabic village Kefar Mescha. On December 26th 1901, the first five settlers arrived and founded the Menahamiya village (from Melchemiya) on purchased land in the southern Jordan Valley, near Kefar Abudiya. The JCA settlements in the Lower Galilee also included Ilaniyya (Segera, 1902), Beit-Gan (1904), Kinnereth and Mitzpe (1908). Houses were already built two years after the three villages were founded. In design, the houses resembled those of the Templer villages in Israel, with the floors and the red roof tiles which were imported from Marseilles, France. The villages were built in the style of "street villages", with one street and rows of houses along each side of it. There was a garden in the front of each house and a walled yard in the back. Behind the backyard, there was a leasehold field. The yard and the field were connected by a narrow path. A wall was built around the village for security. In each village, a school and a kindergarten were built for the children - one next to the other - as well as a synagogue and a pharmacy that served as a clinic. There was continuous cooperation between the villages in security, health and financial matters.
In 1926 the Lower Galilee Farmers' Association was founded in Yavne'el. In 1947, three planes landed in Yavne'el and brought immigrants, for the first time by air, from Iraq and holocaust survivors from Italy (Operation Michaelberg). In 1948, the headquarters of the Golani brigade and Galilee flight squadron were established in Yavne'el. The Yavne'el Local Council was established in 1950 and it was decided to combine Yavne'el, Bet Gan and Meshmar HaShlosha and later Smadar.
In 1905 the teacher Yosef Vitkin of Kefar Tavor wrote "Kol Kore" for the Diaspora youth which encouraged the Second Aliya (immigration to Erez Israel). The HaShomer Organization was founded in 1909 in Kefar Tavor which replaced the "Bar Giora" Organization that had existed previously in Jaffo. In 1913, a women's association, Hevrat Lina, was established in Kefar Tavor, for the treatment of sick people. Kefar Tavor has a museum of the village history and the history of JCA villages in the Lower Galilee. Before the first world war a pharmacy was established in Menahamiya to serve the region. A quarry was established there that supplied raw materials the to Nesher factory near Haifa. The quarry also provided work for the kibbutzim of the Jordan Valley in the beginning of their existence. A factory for gypsum production was also established in Menahamyia, providing employment for the villagers. Menahamiya has a museum of medical history and of the history of Menahamyia and Naharayim.
The three villages expanded their municipal area over the past three years and enjoy high quality public services. The villages, today celebrating their centenary, have preserved their village-like appearance, which is characteristic of the Galilee and the legacy of the first settlers is handed down from one generation to the next.
Avik Kustizki
Head of the Yavne'el Local Council
Yossi Dolah
Head of the Kefar Tavor Local Council
Amit Ben-Zvi
Head of the Menahamiya Local Council
