Introduction

Rosh Pina¹ ('Cornerstone') is situated 420 meters (1,377.60 feet) above sea level, on the eastern slope of Mount Kna'an, north of the Sea of Galilee, and two kilometers east of Safed. Lake Hula, a swamp located north of Rosh Pina, was drained in the 1950s.

Prior to its current incarnation, in 1878, Jews from Safed had attempted to create an agricultural settlement on the site. However, due to a drought, the enterprise, Gei Oni ('Valley of My Strength'), only lasted until 1881. A year later Jewish immigrants from the Moldavia region of Romania, with the help and guidance of Baron Edmond James de Rothschild, were able to make the settlement economically viable. Rosh Pina was the first Jewish settlement in Israel to be supported by Baron Edmond James de Rothschild.

The 1922 Palestine Census, taken by the British Mandate authorities, listed Rosh Pina as having a total population of 468 people, of whom 460 were Jews. The remaining eight inhabitants were equally divided between Muslims and Christians. Nine years later, the population had increased by almost 30%, to 608 people. See the Census tab for details.

In 1906, a botanist, Aaron Aaronsohn, who was on a field trip in the area near Rosh Pina, came across a wild-growing emmer (Triticum dicoccoides) that he believed was the ancestor of domesticated wheat. His guess was confirmed by modern genetics.

The first Hebrew School in Palestine was established in Rosh Pina in 1899. Today, the town has a facility for treating autism – the Mifne Center. Rosh Pina was also the home of Professor Gideon Mer², an epidemiologist who, in the 1930s, was involved in the eradication of malaria. Meir Dagan, a former Director General of Mossad, was a resident of Rosh Pina.

Other notable residents are:

• Ami Assaf, politician
• Ehud Banai, singer & songwriter
• Ama Mer-Khamis, human rights activist