Kibbutz Shoval and the Biggest Attraction in Israel
Kibbutz Shoval has the biggest attraction in Israel. The kibbutz itself doesn’t even promote tourism (which makes it an even better non-touristy attraction in Israel to visit!)
Kibbutz Shoval is located in the northern Negev desert near the Bedouin city of Rahat. Without tourism, I had to plow through fields of digital data to find something interesting you could experience on this kibbutz.
And as I plowed. And plowed. I discovered that Kibbutz Shoval has the biggest attraction in Israel, if not in the entire Middle East! This is not just an attraction, it’s a “traction”… the largest tractor, some say, in the entire Middle East.
Kibbutz Shoval is located exactly in the center of Israel halfway between the northernmost point on Mount Hermon and the southernmost point in Eilat. It is surrounded by 22,000 dunams of agricultural fields. And to plow it’s fields, it owns John Deere’s monstrous desert ship – the 9410R.
The size of the tractor is like a two-room apartment. It has an engine like that of a Porsche 911 Carrera S. There are eight giant wheels, 18 gears and an automatic navigation and steering system. In short, bring here any child or adult with tractoritis, and you’ll witness how their jaw immediately drops.
The Biggest Attraction in Israel
If one day they do decide to develop a tourism industry in Kibbutz Shoval, all that needs to be done is to place Mr. Deere at the entrance to the kibbutz. Next to it, a sign with arrows that determines the midpoint of the State of Israel. Perhaps draw a line on the ground that allows visitors to “skip” from north to south, a souvenir shop and you’ve got the biggest attraction in Israel. By the way, Kibbutz Shoval also has one of the largest dairy farms in the area.
And, as for for the name of the kibbutz, the founders hoped to call their kibbutz “Eilat” because they dreamed of establishing it near the Red Sea. Apparently they upset someone in the Kibbutz Movement which finally sent them to establish the kibbutz at the farthest place from the sea. The name designated for them was “Shoval”.
Why a Shoval? I do not know. But in Hebrew “Shoval” means trail, as in the trail of a dress. With that said, I can imagine their John Deere plowing a sea of golden wheat, behind it a white trail of beef herons pecking at the fresh clods of earth.
Take a look at the Back to Kibbutz Shoval listing here on the site.
