Ezuz ( he, עֱזוּז) is a small

community settlement A community settlement ( he, יישוב קהילתי, ''Yishuv Kehilati'') is a type of village in Israel and the West Bank. While in an ordinary town anyone may buy property, in a community settlement the village's residents are organized in ...

in the

Negev The Negev or Negeb (; he, הַנֶּגֶב, hanNegév; ar, ٱلنَّقَب, an-Naqab) is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southe ...

desert of southern

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. Named for Nahal Ezuz, a dry riverbed, it is located to the south of Nitzana and falls under the jurisdiction of the

Ramat HaNegev Regional Council Ramat HaNegev Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית רמת הנגב, ''Mo'atza Azorit Ramat HaNegev'', ''lit.'' Negev Heights Regional Council) is a regional council in the Negev desert in Israel. With around 8,000 residents spread acros ...

. In it had a population of .

History

The village was established on 19 March 1956 as a

Nahal settlement Nahal settlements ( he, היאחזות נח"ל, ''Heahzut Nahal'') were settlements established by Nahal soldiers in Israel and Israeli-occupied territories Israeli-occupied territories are the lands that were captured and occupied by Isra ...

, and was initially named Be'erotayim (בארותיים, lit. "Two Wells"), a translation of the Arabic name "Birin", that refers to Moshe's Well and Aharon's well; it was also referred to as Be'erotayim (BaNegev) to differentiate it from

Be'erotayim Be'erotayim ( he, בארותיים or בְּאֵרוֹתַיִם) is a moshav in central Israel. Located in the Sharon plain and covering 3,500 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hefer Valley Regional Council. Be'erotayim is a member of ...

in the centre of Israel. It was founded after the Egyptian army was removed from the

demilitarized zone A demilitarized zone (DMZ or DZ) is an area in which treaties or agreements between nations, military powers or contending groups forbid military installations, activities, or personnel. A DZ often lies along an established frontier or bounda ...

near Nitzana by Israeli forces in an attempt to strengthen defences next to the

Egypt–Israel Border The modern borders of Israel exist as the result both of past wars and of diplomatic agreements between the State of Israel and its neighbours as well as colonial powers. Only two of Israel's five total potential land borders are international ...

. While soldiers lived in Be'erotayim, they began growing foods including

almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ...

s, grain, sheep and cattle. At the end of the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...

the village was abandoned as there was no need for a military presence in Nitzana after Israel had conquered the

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a l ...

. The village was re-established as Ezuz in 1985, based on the agriculture created by the soldiers at the post. It is now the site of a traditionally-inspired farm project that uses ancient Nabataean floodwater capture techniques to raise a variety of fruits and vegetables with minimal external irrigation and no artificial fertilisation or pesticide. Residents of the village also raise livestock for local use, and produce goat cheese and organic olive oil. Tourism is an upcoming source of income. Most families provide bed and breakfast, there is a cafe, possibilities of (guided) camel or jeep tours and a hiking and biking route. Some residents are full or part-time artists. נוף מעזוז

Archaeology

Two ancient wells, the Moshe Well and Aharon Well, were discovered under the settlement. Therefore the name of the place is also "Two Wells": in Hebrew: "Be'erotayim" and in Arabic: "Biriin". Today there is a small biblical park "Be'erotayim" around the 2 wells. Some connect it to the wells "be'erot" of Deuteronomy 10:6. Ezuz is not far from the historical, biblical

Kadesh-Barnea Kadesh or Qadesh or Cades (in classical Hebrew he, קָדֵשׁ, from the root "holy") is a place-name that occurs several times in the Hebrew Bible, describing a site or sites located south of, or at the southern border of, Canaan and the Kin ...

(Deuteronomy 9:23) on the Egyptian side of the border. The Beerotayim area was partially surveyed by R.Cohen of the

Israel Antiquities Authority The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA, he, רשות העתיקות ; ar, داﺌرة الآثار, before 1990, the Israel Department of Antiquities) is an independent Israeli governmental authority responsible for enforcing the 1978 Law of ...

in 1985. The Iron Age and Persian fortresses were excavated by Cohen in 1986.Negev, Avraham/Gibson, Shimon: Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land, Continuum P.H., p.72, London/New York 2005,

Geography

Ezuz is located in the middle of the desert, near the border between Egypt and Israel above an

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

. The closest city is

Beersheba Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...

, while the second closest city is

Arish ʻArish or el-ʻArīsh ( ar, العريش ' , ''Hrinokorura'') is the capital and largest city (with 164,830 inhabitants ) of the North Sinai Governorate of Egypt, as well as the largest city on the entire Sinai Peninsula, lying on the Mediter ...

in Egypt.

References

{{Ramat Negev Regional Council Community settlements Populated places in Southern District (Israel) Populated places established in 1956 1956 establishments in Israel Populated places established in 1985 1985 establishments in Israel