Matzuva, also known as Metzuba, is a kibbutz in the Western Galilee in northern Israel. Located to the south of the development town of Shlomi, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Asher Regional Council. In it had a population of.

Etymology

The settlement was named after the nearby Byzantine-period town of Pi-ha-Masuba, a place mentioned in the Tosefta (Shevi'it 4:8-ff.) and in the 3rd-century Mosaic of Rehob. The ancient Christian town was thoroughly destroyed in 613 or 614, never to regain its former size and wealth, but the name survived throughout the Early Muslim, Crusader, and into the Mamluk period. The remains of Byzantine-era Pi Metzuba, whose location was known from previous surveys, were actually discovered in 2020 along the road connecting Shlomi and Hanita, a short distance north of Matzuva. The name is believed to have been derived from mṣwbh, a Semitic root, meaning 'pyramid' or 'pyramidal pile'.

History

The village was established in 1940 by immigrants from Germany, members of the Maccabi HaTzair youth movement. After the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, it expanded onto land that had belonged to the Arab village of al-Bassa, which was depopulated in the war.

Economy

Due to economic problems, the kibbutz textile factory closed down in 2003.