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The community of Rakefet in the Lower Galilee seen across a green valley. Photo: Hanay, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Regions / Western Galilee

Misgav משגב

A regional council of about 35 hill communities in the central Galilee, from small kibbutzim to community settlements.

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Overview

Misgav is not one town but a regional council, in place since 1982, with 35 communities spread over about 165 km² of the central Galilee: kibbutzim, a moshav, a cooperative moshav (Yodfat) and many small community settlements, plus six Bedouin villages. Its population was 30,401 in 2024.

The council offices and the regional service centre are beside the community of Rakefet. Three regional high schools, two industrial parks and the Yaar Shagav trails are shared by all the communities.

30,401 (2024)
Population
7% to ₪146,640
Tax credit (2026)
The rocky slope of Mount Atzmon under a blue sky. Photo: אורן פלס, CC BY 2.5.
Mount Atzmon. Photo: אורן פלס, CC BY 2.5 (source)

Living in Misgav

Quality of life

  • Small hill communities, most with fewer than a few thousand people, set among forest and ridges.
  • Yaar Shagav, beside the council complex, has hiking trails, picnic areas and a single-track cycling loop.
  • Nearby Karmiel is the shopping and train hub; Netiv Express buses connect Misgav to Karmiel’s station.

Community

  • Mostly Jewish community settlements and renewed kibbutzim; Hebrew Wikipedia gives 70.7% Jewish and 27.3% Muslim Arab (CBS), the latter largely the Bedouin villages.
  • Eshbal has a bilingual Jewish-Arab school, and Yodfat an anthroposophical school.

Value for money

  • The Jewish communities we checked (Eshbal, Eshhar, Gilon, Lavon, Rakefet, Tzurit and others) are listed at 7% on earned income up to ₪146,640 (2026); rates are set per community.
  • The Misgav and Bar-Lev industrial parks and the Rafael “Lishem” facility are local employers.

Good to know

  • Each community has its own character and its own admissions rules; Misgav is a collection of places, so visit the specific one.
  • Hebrew Wikipedia gives the council a socio-economic cluster score of 7 of 10 (2021).
  • The tax credit is per community: check the one you are considering.

Community

  • Mostly Jewish community settlements and renewed kibbutzim; Hebrew Wikipedia gives 70.7% Jewish and 27.3% Muslim Arab (CBS), the latter largely the Bedouin villages.
  • Eshbal has a bilingual Jewish-Arab school, and Yodfat an anthroposophical school.

Religious life

Women’s mikveh (available in town)

Neighborhoods to know

  • Eshbal
  • Yodfat
  • Rakefet
  • Eshhar
  • Tzurit
  • Lotem
  • Moran
  • Manof
  • Atzmon
Houses in Eshhar on a snowy day with the Galilee hills behind. Photo: Almog, Public domain.
Eshhar on a snowy day. Photo: Almog, Public domain (source)

Schools

Schools and English-speaking support are being researched and will be added here, each with its source.

Getting around

Misgav has no railway station of its own. The station that serves it is Karmiel, about 22 min (17 km) away by road. On a weekday 26 trains a day run from Karmiel to Haifa Center–HaShmona, usually in about 37 min. 8 trains a day run direct to Tel Aviv Savidor Central, in about 1 h 41 min.

About 56 bus lines stop in Misgav on a weekday. Direct services from Misgav include:

  • Haifa: 215 direct trips on a weekday (lines 169, 261, 262, 265, 282…), from about 22 min; Egged, Nesiot VeTayarut and Nateev Express.
  • Tel Aviv: 5 direct trips on a weekday (lines 846, 848), from about 1 h 39 min; Egged.
  • Jerusalem: 13 direct trips on a weekday (lines 968), from about 1 h 57 min; Egged.
  • Karmiel: 408 direct trips on a weekday (lines 12, 35, 36, 37, 38…), from about 4 min; Egged, Nesiot VeTayarut, Nateev Express and Superbus.
  • Acre: 240 direct trips on a weekday (lines 35, 61, 64, 68, 109…), from about 7 min; Egged, Nesiot VeTayarut and Nateev Express.
  • Tzfat: 36 direct trips on a weekday (lines 361, 846, 980), from about 38 min; Egged and Nateev Express.
  • Kiryat Shmona: 35 direct trips on a weekday (lines 500), from about 1 h 11 min; Egged.

Times are from the first stop in town to the first stop in the destination city. Timetables change, so check the operator’s app before you plan a trip.

By road, Misgav is about 36 min (32 km) from Haifa, 1 h 33 min (121 km) from Tel Aviv, 2 h 2 min (160 km) from Jerusalem and 1 h 35 min (122 km) from Ben Gurion Airport, the nearest international airport. These are free-road estimates with no traffic, so allow more at rush hour.

Sources: Ministry of Transport timetable · OpenStreetMap routing · Wikipedia, Israel Railways

Misgav is part of Western Galilee, with Kfar Vradim, Shlomi, Karmiel and Maalot-Tarshiha close by.

Map showing MisgavKinneretMediterraneanWestern GalileeTzfatRosh PinaTiberiasMigdalYavnielKatzrinKfar VradimShlomiNahariyaMigdal HaEmekAfulaYokneam IllitKiryat TivonHaifaZichron YaakovCaesareaPardes Hanna-KarkurHaderaHarishHatzor HaGlilitKarmielMaalot-TarshihaMisgav
Fields of white sea squill flowering on Tel Yodfat. Photo: Niv Drukman, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sea squill on Tel Yodfat. Photo: Niv Drukman, CC BY-SA 4.0 (source)

Nature & attractions

Within 45 minutes takes you to Bet She’arim National Park (38 min), Amud Stream Nature Reserve (39 min), Zippori National Park (39 min) and Tel Megiddo National Park (45 min). For a longer day out, Rosh Hanikra grottoes (46 min), Yehi’am Fortress National Park (47 min), Akhziv National Park (47 min) and Korazim National Park (49 min) are within the hour.

All 16 parks and reserves within an hour, with drive times
  • Bet She’arim National Park · about 38 min by roadA burial ground where Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi is buried, with the decorated Menorah Caves. INPA, Bet She’arim
  • Amud Stream Nature Reserve · about 39 min by roadA stream that runs all year, with rock pools, old flour mills and prehistoric caves. The upper section, reached from Road 866, is open to visitors. INPA, Amud Stream
  • Zippori National Park · about 39 min by roadA former capital of the Galilee and seat of the Sanhedrin, with Roman and Byzantine mosaics. INPA, Zippori
  • Tel Megiddo National Park · about 45 min by roadThe palaces, temples, gates and water system of a major Canaanite city, part of the UNESCO World Heritage biblical tells. INPA, Tel Megiddo
  • Rosh Hanikra grottoes · about 46 min by roadSea-carved hollows in a white chalk cliff on the Lebanese border, about 200 m of connected passages reached by cable car; the Israel Nature and Parks Authority manages the site. Wikipedia, Rosh HaNikra grottoes
  • Yehi’am Fortress National Park · about 47 min by roadThe ruins of a large Crusader and Ottoman fortress, which also tells the story of its defenders in 1948. INPA, Yehi’am Fortress
  • Akhziv National Park · about 47 min by roadThe remains of an ancient fishing village, a sandy beach and a lagoon, next to Israel’s largest marine reserve (Achziv–Rosh Hanikra, declared December 2019). INPA, Akhziv
  • Korazim National Park · about 49 min by roadA Jewish village from the time of the Mishnah and Talmud, with a synagogue and a ritual bath. INPA, Korazim
  • Hamat Tiberias National Park · about 52 min by roadAn ancient synagogue with a mosaic floor, an 18th-century Turkish bathhouse and 17 hot springs by the Kinneret. INPA, Hamat Tiberias
  • Ramat HaNadiv · about 54 min by roadA nature park and garden at the southern end of the Carmel, with pine and cypress groves around the tomb of Baron Edmond de Rothschild and his wife.
  • Arbel National Park and Nature Reserve · about 55 min by roadA cliff-top park over the Kinneret, with Arbel Fortress, a cave village and the ruins of a Galilean synagogue. INPA, Arbel
  • Harod Spring (Ma’ayan Harod) National Park · about 56 min by roadA spring from a cave on the slope of Mount Gilboa, a clear brook and a paddling pool, and the Hankin House museum. INPA, Harod Spring
  • Nahal Me’arot Nature Reserve · about 57 min by roadFour prehistoric caves (Tabun, Jamal, El-Wad and Skhul) with remains of about 500,000 years of human life, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2012. INPA, Nahal Me’arot
  • Tel Hazor National Park · about 58 min by roadA Canaanite and Israelite city with a palace and a water system 45 m deep, part of the UNESCO World Heritage biblical tells (2005). INPA, Tel Hazor
  • Montfort Castle (Nahal Kziv Nature Reserve) · about 58 min by roadThe ruins of a Teutonic Order castle built from 1228, above the Nahal Kziv stream, with a three-storey gate tower and a two-storey central hall. Wikipedia, Montfort Castle
  • Caesarea National Park · about 1 h by roadThe Roman port city Herod the Great built from about 22 BCE, with a theatre that still hosts concerts, a hippodrome, Crusader walls and aqueducts on the beach.

Drive times are free-road estimates from the center of Misgav (OpenStreetMap routing). Hours, fees and booking rules change; check the Israel Nature and Parks Authority before you go.

Hills and fields seen from Tel Yodfat. Photo: 300Sapir, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The view from Tel Yodfat. Photo: 300Sapir, CC BY-SA 4.0 (source)

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Sources

Researched by DreamNorth, checked 18 Oct 2026. Developer and promotional material is marked as such; confirm details before you buy.