Kfar Mordechai ( he, כְּפַר מָרְדְּכַי) 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 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 about 30 kilometers south of

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

, between

Ashdod Ashdod ( he, ''ʾašdōḏ''; ar, أسدود or إسدود ''ʾisdūd'' or '' ʾasdūd'' ; Philistine: 𐤀𐤔𐤃𐤃 *''ʾašdūd'') is the sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District, it lies on the Mediterran ...

Gedera Gedera, or less commonly known as Gdera ( he, גְּדֵרָה), is a town in the southern part of the Shfela region in the Central District of Israel founded in 1884. It is south of Rehovot. In , it had a population of . History Gedera ...

and

Yavne Yavne ( he, יַבְנֶה) or Yavneh is a city in the Central District of Israel. In many English translations of the Bible, it is known as Jabneh . During Greco-Roman times, it was known as Jamnia ( grc, Ἰαμνία ''Iamníā''; la, Iamnia) ...

, it falls under the jurisdiction of

Gederot Regional Council Gederot Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית גדרות, ''Mo'atza Azorit Gderot'') is a regional council (Israel), regional council in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel. It is located between Ashdod, Yavne and Ged ...

. In it had a population of .

History

The village was established in 1950 by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and

South African Jews The history of the Jews in South Africa began during the period of Portuguese exploration in the early modern era, though a permanent presence was not established until the beginning of Dutch colonisation in the region. During the period of ...

and by some ex-

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 ...

members, on the lands of the depopulated

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 Bashshit. It was named after Mordechai Eliash (1892-1950), who was born in the Ukraine, educated at universities in Berlin and Oxford, immigrated to Palestine in 1919, was a lawyer and the first Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom.Jewish Virtual Library: Kfar Mordechai
/ref> When the first residents arrived, they discovered that the houses had not yet been built and they were housed in semi-detached huts (tzrifim) consisting of one large room, one kitchen and one toilet located about a kilometer from their allocated farms. After waiting for a year for Rassco to build their new homes, an agreement was reached with Rassco to supply the materials for residents to build their own homes.

Notable residents

* Agi Mishol

References

{{Gederot Moshavim Agricultural Union Populated places in Central District (Israel) Populated places established in 1950 1950 establishments in Israel British-Jewish culture in Israel South African-Jewish culture in Israel