Beit HaKerem Valley

The Beit HaKerem Valley is a valley in the Galilee region of northern Israel that forms the dividing line between the higher mountains of Upper Galilee to the north and the lower mountains of Lower Galilee to the south. As the shortest route between the Mediterranean coast and the Jordan Valley, it likely carried an eastern branch of the ancient Via Maris trade route, though it remained difficult to cross year round until a modern road was paved through it in the 1930s. Today seven municipalities along the valley, five Arab and two Jewish, cooperate through a joint development cluster to coordinate regional economic growth.