The original settlers were immigrants mostly from Poland and Lithuania. In 1947, it had a population of 600.
According to a 1949 book by the Jewish National Fund, Dafna along with other border settlements of Dan and Kfar Szold held off the Syria and Lebanese forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. However, the settlement was often bombarded and was said to have suffered heavy damage.
Dafna cooperated with Dan in establishing the first trout breeding enterprise in the area.
Kibbutz Dafna figures prominently in Leon Uris's book Exodus, as the hometown of the protagonist Ari Ben Caanan.
1997 Israeli helicopter disaster
The helicopters disaster: on February 4, 1997, at approximately 19:00, two "Yasur" Sikorsky CH 53 helicopters carrying 73 soldiers and loaded with ammunition collided in mid-air over She'ar Yashuv. One of the helicopters smashed into an open field near the cemetery of Kibbutz Dafna.
It is believed that this accident increased the pressure on the IDF to withdraw its forces from Lebanon, finally done in May 2000.
Today a monument next to the cemetery of Kibbutz Dafna commemorates the 73 fallen soldiers. The monument consists of 73 obelisks and a running stream of water that leads, via a path of glass and stone to a huge tree whose leaves symbolize the names of those killed in the disaster. It is visited by many Israelis throughout the year
