Kfar Etzion ( he, כְּפַר עֶצְיוֹן, ''lit.'' Etzion Village) is an

Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...

in the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

, organized as a religious

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 ...

located in the

Judean Hills The Judaean Mountains, or Judaean Hills ( he, הרי יהודה, translit=Harei Yehuda) or the Hebron Mountains ( ar, تلال الخليل, translit=Tilal al-Khalīl, links=, lit=Hebron Mountains), is a mountain range in Palestine and Israel whe ...

between

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

and

Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after East J ...

in the southern

, established in 1927, depopulated in 1948 and re-established in 1967. It is located 4.7 km east of the

Green Line Green Line may refer to: Places Military and political * Green Line (France), the German occupation line in France during World War II * Green Line (Israel), the 1949 armistice line established between Israel and its neighbours ** City Line ( ...

and falls under the jurisdiction of

Gush Etzion Regional Council The Gush Etzion Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית גוש עציון, ''Mo'atza Azorit Gush Etzion'') is a Regional council (Israel), regional council in the northern Judean Hills, the northern part of the southern area of the West B ...

. In , Kfar Etzion had a population of . The majority of the international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli and the American governments dispute this.

History

Migdal Eder

In January 1927, the Zikhron David society, a group of

Orthodox Jews Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Jewish theology, Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Torah, Written and Oral Torah, Or ...

from the

Mea Shearim Mea Shearim ( he, מאה שערים, lit., "hundred gates"; contextually, "a hundred fold") is one of the oldest Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem outside of the Old City. It is populated by Haredi Jews, and was built by members of the Old Yish ...

neighborhood of

, established a small farming community, Migdal Eder, on land near to the present site of Kfar Etzion. The name was taken from a verse in the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

35:21, which referenced a

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

by the same name. A group of 15 families, including 12 Yemenite families, settled on the land. The farming outcomes were very disappointing and pleas for help from the

Zionist Executive The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...

and the

Palestine Jewish Colonization Association The Palestine Jewish Colonization Association ( he, חברה להתיישבות יהודית בארץ־ישראל), commonly known by its Yiddish acronym PICA ( he, פיק"א), was established in 1924. It played a major role in purchasing land for ...

were rejected. After one year, only 7 families remained. At the onset of the

1929 Palestine riots The 1929 Palestine riots, Buraq Uprising ( ar, ثورة البراق, ) or the Events of 1929 ( he, מאורעות תרפ"ט, , ''lit.'' Events of 5689 Anno Mundi), was a series of demonstrations and riots in late August 1929 in which a longst ...

, the remaining settlers fled and local Arabs destroyed the buildings. Residents of the neighboring

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

Beit Ummar Beit Ummar ( ar, بيت اُمّر) is a Palestinian town located eleven kilometers northwest of Hebron in the Hebron Governorate of the State of Palestine. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, in 2016, the town had a populati ...

sheltered the farmers, but they could not return to their land.

El haHar

The El haHar ("to the mountain") settlement company was founded by Shmuel Zvi Holzmann in 1933. Holzmann bought land, mostly from Migdal Eder, and leased land from a nearby Russian convent. The intention was to found three settlements: Kfar Etzion, Pri-Amal and Ya'ar Etzion. The name "Etzion" was a play on Holzmann's own name, as "Holz" means "wood" in German and Yiddish, while "etz ()" means "wood" in Hebrew. However workers preparing the site left in 1936 due to the beginning of the

Arab Revolt The Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية, ) or the Great Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية الكبرى, ) was a military uprising of Arab forces against the Ottoman Empire in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. On t ...

. Much of the land was purchased by the

Jewish National Fund 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 subseq ...

to keep it in Jewish hands.

Old Kfar Etzion

In the early 1940s, additional land in the area was purchased by the Jewish National Fund, including some from a Benedictine monastery and some from Arabs (despite the

1939 White Paper The White Paper of 1939Occasionally also known as the MacDonald White Paper (e.g. Caplan, 2015, p.117) after Malcolm MacDonald, the British Colonial Secretary, who presided over its creation. was a policy paper issued by the British government ...

's ban on land sales to Jews in the area). The site of Kfar Etzion was settled in 1943 by Kvutzat Avraham of the religious

Hapoel HaMizrachi Hapoel HaMizrachi ( he, הַפּוֹעֵל הַמִּזְרָחִי, lit. '' Mizrachi Workers'') was a political party and settlement movement in Israel. It was one of the predecessors of the National Religious Party and the Jewish Home. History ...

movement. During the next four years, three additional kibbutzim were founded in the area, creating what became known as the

Etzion bloc Gush Etzion ( he, גּוּשׁ עֶצְיוֹן, ' Etzion Bloc) is a cluster of Israeli settlements located in the Judaean Mountains, directly south of Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the West Bank. The core group includes four Jewish agricultural ...

. All of them were destroyed in the

1948 Arab-Israeli War Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

, and the entire area came under

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

ian rule. The kibbutzim held off the attacks for ten days until Kfar Etzion fell on 14 May 1948. In the fighting, 157 Jewish defenders died, including a number who were killed after surrendering. The other three kibbutzim surrendered. The inhabitants there were taken as

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

and released nine months later. File:The four kibbutzes of the Gush Etzion Bloc (Kfar Etzion, Ein Zurim, Massuot Yitzhak, Revadim) overlaid on the 1943 Survey of Palestine map of Beit Fajjar.jpg, The four kibbutzes of the

Gush Etzion Gush Etzion ( he, גּוּשׁ עֶצְיוֹן, ' Etzion Bloc) is a cluster of Israeli settlements located in the Judaean Mountains, directly south of Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the West Bank. The core group includes four Jewish agricultural v ...

at the time of the 1948 war (Kfar Etzion,

Ein Zurim Ein Tzurim ( he, עֵין צוּרִים, ''lit.'' Rock Spring) is a religious kibbutz in southern Israel. Located south of Kiryat Malakhi, it falls under the jurisdiction of Shafir Regional Council and is a member of the Religious Kibbutz Movem ...

Massuot Yitzhak Masu'ot Yitzhak ( he, מְשּׂוּאוֹת יִצְחָק, ''lit.'' Yitzhak's Beacons) is a moshav shitufi in southern Israel. Located near Ashkelon, it falls under the jurisdiction of Shafir Regional Council. The original kibbutz in Gush Etzio ...

Revadim Revadim ( he, רְבָדִים, ''lit.'' terraces) is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located in the southern Shephelah (Judean foothills) region, it falls under the jurisdiction of Yoav Regional Council. In it had a population of . History Reva ...

) overlaid on a 1943

Survey of Palestine The Survey of Palestine was the government department responsible for the Cartography of Palestine, survey and mapping of Palestine during the Mandatory Palestine, British mandate period. The survey department was established in 1920 in Jaffa, ...

map File:PikiWiki Israel 7264 Kfar Etzion water tank in 1943.jpg, Kfar Etzion water tank, 1943 File:Surif 1945.jpg, Kfar Etzion (Kefir 'Etsyon) 1945, 1:250,000 File:כפר עציון - עבודת יעור-JNF001375.jpeg, Kfar Etzion 1945 File:כפר עציון - נוה עובדיה-JNF045374.jpeg, Neve Ovadia library exterior 1946 File:כפר עציון - אולם קריאה בבית נוה עובדיה ע"ש אברהם כץ חבר כפר עציון שנהרג ביום העליה לחניתה.-JNF045375.jpeg, Kfar Neve Ovadia reading hall File:כפר עציון - מראה חלקי.-JNF045372.jpeg, Kfar Etzion 1946 File:כפר עציון - בהגנה על כפר עציון-JNF032967.jpeg, Kfar Etzion 1947 File:Kfar Etzion 1947.jpg, Kfar Etzion, 1947 File:Kfar Etzion.jpg, Kfar Etzion 1948

New Kfar Etzion settlement

In 1967 Israel occupied the West Bank in 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 Israeli cabinet decided to re-establish the settlement of Kfar Etzion despite receiving legal advice that establishing such settlements in occupied territory would be illegal under the

Fourth Geneva Convention The Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, more commonly referred to as the Fourth Geneva Convention and abbreviated as GCIV, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It was adopted in Augus ...

. A key figure identified with Kfar Etzion's reestablishment after 1967 is

Hanan Porat Hanan Porat ( he, חנן פורת, 5 December 1943 – 4 October 2011) was an Israeli Orthodox rabbi, educator, and politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Tehiya, the National Religious Party, Tkuma, and the National Union between ...

, who lived on the kibbutz as a child prior to its destruction in 1948. Another figure involved in Kfar Etzion's resettlement is Elyashiv Knohl, a rabbi of the community whose father fought in 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 ...

and was captured during the war by the Jordanians. According to Knohl, Kfar Etzion's original settlers were socialists, and members of the kibbutz continue to channel their incomes to a joint account. Today Kfar Etzion houses a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

and archive documenting the history of

. In the

2013 Middle East cold snap The 2013 Middle East cold snap, also referred to as Alexa, refers to the winter storm that hit the Middle East region in December 2013, affecting Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Turkey, and Egypt. The storm severely affected millions ...

a meter of snow fell on the Kfar Etzion area.

Economy

Residents of Kfar Etzion earn their livelihood growing cherries, flowers, olives, almonds, and grapes. Some raise chickens, and others work in Jerusalem. As of 2012 there is a large clothing store on the settlement. In 2012 the price of a 120-square-meter home on the settlement was while the price of a 200-square-meter home was .

References

External links

Official website

Peace Now fact sheet
{{Authority control Kibbutzim Religious Kibbutz Movement Populated places established in 1927 Populated places established in 1934 Populated places established in 1943 Populated places established in 1967 Religious Israeli settlements Villages depopulated during the Arab–Israeli conflict Jewish villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War Gush Etzion Regional Council Yemeni-Jewish culture in Israel 1927 establishments in Mandatory Palestine 1934 establishments in Mandatory Palestine 1943 establishments in Mandatory Palestine 1967 establishments in the Israeli Military Governorate Israeli settlements in the West Bank 1948 disestablishments in the West Bank Governorate