Kissufim ( he, כִּסּוּפִים, ''lit.'' Yearning) 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 the northwestern
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 in
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 adjacent to the
Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...
at an altitude of 92 meters above sea level, it falls under the jurisdiction of
Eshkol Regional Council
Eshkol Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית אשכול, ''Mo'atza Ezorit Eshkol'') is a regional council in the north-western Negev, in Israel's Southern District. The regional council's territory lies midway between Ashkelon and Beersh ...
. In it had a population of .
History
The village was established in 1951 by
Zionist youth movement
A Zionist youth movement ( he, תנועות הנוער היהודיות הציוניות ''tnuot hanoar hayehudiot hatsioniot'') is an organization formed for Jewish children and adolescents for educational, social, and ideological development, in ...
members from the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
. One of the members who established the Kibbutz was Ami Saull, who was born in Manhattan 1932, and was nephew of
Israel Galili
Yisrael Galili ( he, ישראל גלילי; 10 February 1911 – 8 February 1986) was an Israeli politician, government minister and member of Knesset. Before Israel's independence in 1948, he served as Chief of Staff of the Haganah.
Biography
...
and father of the film maker
Dror Shaul
Dror Shaul (born June 28, 1975) is an Israeli film-maker, commercial director and film writer-director, residing in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Biography
Shaul was born and raised in the Kibbutz Kissufim where he lived until the age of 22.
Shaul was born ...
. Kissufim is part of the
Shalom bloc of Israeli settlement meant to secure Israel's southern border with the Gaza Strip from the numerous
Palestinian Fedayeen
Palestinian fedayeen (from the Arabic ''fidā'ī'', plural ''fidā'iyūn'', فدائيون) are militants or guerrillas of a nationalist orientation from among the Palestinian people. Most Palestinians consider the fedayeen to be " freedom fig ...
infiltrations. The national government has recently financed building additions to each home which also serve as bomb shelters, with reinforced concrete.
Tell Jemmeh
Tell Jemmeh ( ar, تل جمه), also known in Hebrew as Tel Gamma (תל גמה) or Tel Re'im (תל רעים), is a prominent mound, or tell (archaeology), tell, located in the region of the northwestern Negev and the southern Israeli coastal plain ...
is a major archaeological site located about 5 kilometers east-northeast of Kissufim, on the southern bank of
HaBesor Stream
The Besor ( he, נחל הבשור, ''Nahal HaBesor'') is a wadi in southern Israel. The stream begins at Mount Boker (near Sde Boker), and spills into the Mediterranean Sea near Al-Zahra in the Gaza Strip, where it is called Wadi Gaza ( ar, واد ...
.
Economy
The kibbutz economy largely relies on its
milk production
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...
,
chicken farming, a
citrus
''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Lemon, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and lim ...
grove which is being phased out, an
avocado
The avocado (''Persea americana'') is a medium-sized, evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to the Americas and was first domesticated by Mesoamerican tribes more than 5,000 years ago. Then as now it was prized for i ...
orchard, and renting out land to the
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
. Avocados are the primary income and Kissufim is one of the only producers of Avocados in Israel during the summer months. Income from land rented from the IDF helps cover the pension costs and other agricultural land is managed by neighboring villages, with profits split.
At one point it had a factory that produced plastic frames for glasses and raised chinchillas for their fur. Both endeavours were economic failures. The village also houses an archaeological museum (named after Ami Saull, father of Dror Shaul) displaying artifacts found in the surrounding area. Kissufim is currently undergoing a process of privatization in which homes will soon be owned by individuals rather than the collective.
Kissufim crossing
The nearby crossing into the Gaza Strip, named for the kibbutz, was the main route for traffic into the
Gush Katif
Gush Katif ( he, גוש קטיף, , Harvest Bloc) was a bloc of 17 Israeli settlements in the southern Gaza strip. In August 2005, the Israeli army forcibly removed the 8,600 residents of Gush Katif from their homes after a decision from the Ca ...
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 ...
bloc. It was permanently closed to inbound Israeli civilian traffic on 15 August 2005 as part of the
disengagement plan. The last Israeli soldier left the Gaza strip and closed the gate at dawn of 12 September 2005, completing the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
Israel completes Gaza withdrawal
BBC News, 12 September 2006
Notable people
* Avihu Medina
Avihu Medina ( he, אביהו מדינה, born August 19, 1948 in Tel Aviv) is an Israeli composer, arranger, songwriter, and singer of Mediterranean Israeli music.
Medina was born in Tel Aviv. He was the third son of Aaron and Leah Medina. His m ...
, composer, arranger, songwriter and singer
* Dror Shaul
Dror Shaul (born June 28, 1975) is an Israeli film-maker, commercial director and film writer-director, residing in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Biography
Shaul was born and raised in the Kibbutz Kissufim where he lived until the age of 22.
Shaul was born ...
, filmmaker
References
External links
Official website
Kissufim
Negev Information Centre
15-minute movie on Kissufim in the 1950s
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
Jewish Film Archive
Kissufim
Bo HaBayta article
Archaeology links
*
*
* Regarding Early Paleolithic flint tools of Acheulean
Acheulean (; also Acheulian and Mode II), from the French ''acheuléen'' after the type site of Saint-Acheul, is an archaeological industry of stone tool manufacture characterized by the distinctive oval and pear-shaped "hand axes" associated ...
technology in the Kissufim museum.
{{Authority control
American-Jewish culture in Israel
Kibbutzim
Kibbutz Movement
Populated places established in 1951
Gaza envelope
Populated places in Southern District (Israel)
South American-Jewish culture in Israel
1951 establishments in Israel