Gezer ( he, גֶּזֶר) is a

kibbutz A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...

in central

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 in the

Shephelah The Shephelah or Shfela, lit. "lowlands" ( hbo, הַשְּפֵלָה ''hašŠǝfēlā'', also Modern Hebrew: , ''Šǝfēlat Yəhūda'', the "Judaean foothills"), is a transitional region of soft-sloping rolling hills in south-central Israel str ...

between

Modi'in Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut ( he, מוֹדִיעִין-מַכַּבִּים-רֵעוּת) is an Israeli city located in central Israel, about southeast of Tel Aviv and west of Jerusalem, and is connected to those two cities via Highway 443. In t ...

Ramle Ramla or Ramle ( he, רַמְלָה, ''Ramlā''; ar, الرملة, ''ar-Ramleh'') is a city in the Central District of Israel. Today, Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with both a significant Jewish and Arab populations. The city was f ...

and

Rehovot Rehovot ( he, רְחוֹבוֹת ''Rəḥōvōt'', ar, رحوڤوت ''Reḥūfūt'') is a city in the Central District of Israel, about south of Tel Aviv. In it had a population of . Etymology Israel Belkind, founder of the Bilu movement, ...

, it falls under the jurisdiction of

Gezer Regional Council Gezer Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית גזר, ''Mo'atza Azorit Gezer'') is a regional council in the Central District of Israel. Established in 1949, it had a population of 20,700 in 2006. List of settlements The council covers fi ...

. In it had a population of .

History

The kibbutz was established in 1945 on land purchased by the Ancient Order of Maccabeans in England, a philanthropic society founded in 1896. The land had traditionally belonged to the

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

village of

Al-Qubab Al-Qubab ( ar, القباب) was a Palestinian Arab village in the Ramle Subdistrict. It was depopulated in July 1948 during the Operation Dani led by the Yiftach Brigade. History Remains, possibly dating from the Roman era have been found here. ...

. The pioneers were

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

from

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, who named the kibbutz after the biblical city of

Gezer Gezer, or Tel Gezer ( he, גֶּזֶר), in ar, تل الجزر – Tell Jezar or Tell el-Jezari is an archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (eithe ...

(), identified as a tell (archaeological mound) located nearby. On 10 June 1948, the day after an attempt to take

Latrun Latrun ( he, לטרון, ''Latrun''; ar, اللطرون, ''al-Latrun'') is a strategic hilltop in the Latrun salient in the Ayalon Valley, and a depopulated Palestinian village. It overlooks the road between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, 25 kilometers ...

was performed by ''

Yiftah Yiftah ( he, יִפְתָּח, lit. ''He will open'') is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located near the Lebanese border and Kiryat Shmona, it falls under the jurisdiction of Upper Galilee Regional Council. In it had a population of . Histor ...

'' and '' Harel'' brigades 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 ...

, a battalion-size force of the

Arab Legion The Arab Legion () was the police force, then regular army of the Emirate of Transjordan, a British protectorate, in the early part of the 20th century, and then of independent Jordan, with a final Arabization of its command taking place in 195 ...

, supported by irregulars and a dozen of armored cars, attacked the kibbutz. This was defended by 68 Haganah soldiers. After four hours of battle, the kibbutz fell. 39 defenders were killed, a dozen escaped, and the remaining were taken prisoner. Two Arab legionnaires were killed. At the evening, the kibbutz abandoned to the irregulars was taken back by two ''

Palmach The Palmach (Hebrew: , acronym for , ''Plugot Maḥatz'', "Strike Companies") was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv (Jewish community) during the period of the British Mandate for Palestine. The Palmach ...

'' squads. גזר - מראה כללי-JNF026177

After the war it was rebuilt, but came apart in 1964 due to social difficulties. The current kibbutz was founded on 4 July 1974, by a

Gar'in Gar'in (, ''lit.'' kernel) is a Hebrew term used for groups of people who moved together to Ottoman Palestine, British Palestine, and since 1948, Israel.Joel Beinin The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry- 2005 9774248902 "arrived in Israel while the mi ...

from

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

Kibbutz Gezer Field Kibbutz Gezer Field was the home ground for Israeli baseball teams Modi'in Miracle and Bet Shemesh Blue Sox in the Israel Baseball League. It is located in Kibbutz Gezer.

is one of the few regulation baseball fields in Israel. Construction of the field in 1983, funded by American donors, took six weeks. The first game was played within a few months. A backstop, covered benches for players and a refreshment stand were added at a later date. In 1989, a scoreboard and outfield fence were erected for the

Maccabiah The Maccabiah Games (a.k.a. the World Maccabiah Games; he, משחקי המכביה, or משחקי המכביה העולמית; sometimes referred to as the "Jewish Olympics"), first held in 1932, are an international Jewish and Israeli multi-sp ...

Games. Since 2014, a red-hair event has been held at the Kibbutz for the local Israeli red hair community. The festival includes performances, group discussions surrounding breaking stigmas about gingers, and even helps red heads to find their ginger spouse. However, the number of attendees has to be restricted due to the risk of rocket attacks, leading to anger in the red-hair community.Finally, a Red Alert This Summer That (Most) Israelis Welcomed
Roy Arad, Haaretz.com, August 30, 2014

Notable people

Alon Leichman Alon Leichman ( he, אלון ליישמן; born May 29, 1989) is an Israeli assistant pitching coach of the Cincinnati Reds in Major League Baseball. He also pitches and coaches for Team Israel. Leichman was formerly the pitching coach of the ...

, Olympian, member of the

Israel national baseball team The Israel national baseball team ( he, נבחרת ישראל בבייסבול) represents Israel in international competitions. It is managed by Israeli-American former Major League Baseball World Series champion, World Baseball Classic champion, ...

, and assistant pitching coach for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

References

External links

Official websiteKibbutz Gezer - Yehudit Shaked collection
on the Digital collections of

Younes and Soraya Nazarian Library The Younes and Soraya Nazarian Library is a central academic library of the University of Haifa, and one of the largest in Israel. It is also one of the most progressive Israeli libraries in terms of service, collection, physical space, and libr ...

, University of Haifa {{Gezer Regional Council Kibbutzim Kibbutz Movement Populated places established in 1945 Populated places in Central District (Israel) 1945 establishments in Mandatory Palestine North American-Jewish culture in Israel

History

Notable people

See also

References

External links