Bitzaron ( he, בִּצָּרוֹן, lit. ''Stronghold'') is a

moshav A moshav ( he, מוֹשָׁב, plural ', lit. ''settlement, village'') is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 an ...

in 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 ...

. Located on local road 3811, between

Gan Yavne Gan-Yavne () is a town in central Israel, located adjacent to the city of Ashdod. Gan Yavne was founded in 1931 and achieved local council status in 1950. It lies east of the Tel Aviv–Ashkelon highway, and is bordered to the west by Ashdod, ...

and

Bnei Ayish Bnei Ayish () is a town and local council in the Central District of Israel. Located around ten kilometers from Ashdod and adjacent to Gedera, it had a population of in . History The town was founded in 1957 on land that had belonged to the ...

, it falls under the jurisdiction of

Be'er Tuvia Regional Council Be'er Tuvia Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית באר טוביה, ''Mo'atza Azorit Be'er Tovia''), is a regional council in the southern Coastal Plain region in Israel. It borders Yoav and Nahal Sorek regional councils in the east; ...

. In its population was ; its area is around 5,000

dunam A dunam ( Ottoman Turkish, Arabic: ; tr, dönüm; he, דונם), also known as a donum or dunum and as the old, Turkish, or Ottoman stremma, was the Ottoman unit of area equivalent to the Greek stremma or English acre, representing the amount ...

s (5 km²).

History

Bitzaron was founded in 1935, on

JNF Jewish National Fund ( he, קֶרֶן קַיֶּימֶת לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Keren Kayemet LeYisrael'', previously , ''Ha Fund HaLeumi'') was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Syria (later Mandatory Palestine, and subsequ ...

lands, with the help of

Keren Hayesod Keren Hayesod – United Israel Appeal ( he, קרן היסוד, literally "The Foundation Fund") is an official fundraising organization for Israel with branches in 45 countries. Its work is carried out in accordance with the Keren haYesod Law-5 ...

. In a book about Jewish villages in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

, the JNF says that the founders of Bitzaron organized themselves in 1929 before settling on the land as the Tel Hai group, and that in 1947 the population was 175. A second wave of residents, including recently demobilized soldiers and their families arrived shortly after the

1947–1949 Palestine war The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. It is known in Israel as the War of Independence ( he, מלחמת העצמאות, ''Milkhemet Ha'Atzma'ut'') and ...

. They were settled along a road, called Soldiers' Street, running west from the center of the moshav. A third wave of new residents, many of whom were new immigrants from Bulgaria, were settled along a road that runs east from the center. Its name was taken from the

Book of Zechariah The Book of Zechariah, attributed to the Hebrew prophet Zechariah, is included in the Twelve Minor Prophets in the Hebrew Bible. Historical context Zechariah's prophecies took place during the reign of Darius the Great and were contempora ...

9:12:
Carta's Official Guide to Israel and Complete Gazetteer to all Sites in the Holy Land. (3rd edition 1993) Jerusalem, Carta, p.123, (Englisch)
Place Names in Israel. A Compendium of Place Names in Israel compiled from various sources. Translated from Hebrew, Jerusalem 1962 (Israel Prime Minister’s Office. The Israeli Program for Scientific Translations) p.36 (Location of the book: Ben Zvi Institute Library, 12 Abarbanel St., Jerusalem; in the online-catalogue: ) "Return to your stronghold, you prisoners of hope." During the

1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 (or First) Arab–Israeli War was the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had ...

, Bitzaron was on the front lines in the battle against the Egyptian army, and was bombarded by the Egyptian air force. The women and children of the village were evacuated to

Rishon LeZion Rishon LeZion ( he, רִאשׁוֹן לְצִיּוֹן , ''lit.'' First to Zion, Arabic: راشون لتسيون) is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan ar ...

and

Ness Ziona Ness Ziona ( he, נֵס צִיּוֹנָה, ''Nes Tziyona'') is a town in central Israel. In it had a population of , and its jurisdiction was 15,579 dunams (). History Early history Lying within Ness Ziona's city bounds is the ruin of an Arab vi ...

, while the men stayed to fight.

Economy

PikiWiki Israel 42356 Agriculture in Israel

Bitzaron's economy is based on agriculture and dairy farming. The moshav has numerous citrus groves. It is also notable for its buffalo dairy, founded by Irit and Hagai Treister, which also serves as a tourist attraction and contains a number of ad hoc facilities. The buffalo herd was imported from

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in 1995.

References

External links

Documentary about moshav’s history
{{Authority control Moshavim Be'er Tuvia Regional Council Populated places established in 1935 Jewish villages in Mandatory Palestine Populated places in Southern District (Israel) 1935 establishments in Mandatory Palestine Russian-Jewish culture in Israel