Negba ( he, נֶגְבָּה) 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 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 in the northern

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 near the cities of

Kiryat Malakhi Kiryat Malakhi ( he, קִרְיַת מַלְאָכִי, also Qiryat Malakhi or Kiryat Malachi) is a city in the Southern District of Israel, from Ashkelon. In it had a population of . Its jurisdiction is 4,632 dunams (~4.6 km2). Histor ...

and

Ashkelon Ashkelon or Ashqelon (; Hebrew: , , ; Philistine: ), also known as Ascalon (; Ancient Greek: , ; Arabic: , ), is a coastal city in the Southern District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with ...

, it falls under the jurisdiction of

Yoav Regional Council Yoav Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית יואב, ''Mo'atza Azorit Yoav'') is a regional council in the Southern District of Israel. It is located near the cities of Kiryat Gat, Kiryat Malakhi and Ashkelon. It was founded in 1952, cove ...

. In it had a population of . The name of the kibbutz is based on a verse in the

Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning") ...

(13:14), where God commands

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...

to cast his eyes and travel throughout the

land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...

, toward the north, south, east and west. The word "negba" means "southward" in Biblical Hebrew.

History

Foundation

Kibbutz Negba was founded on 12 July 1939 as part of the tower and stockade enterprise. The first settlers were members of

Hashomer Hatzair Hashomer Hatzair ( he, הַשׁוֹמֵר הַצָעִיר, , ''The Young Guard'') is a Labor Zionist, secular Jewish youth movement founded in 1913 in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austria-Hungary, and it was also the name of the group ...

from Poland. It was the southernmost Jewish settlement in

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

Battle for Negba, 1948

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 ...

, the Israeli military engaged in many battles with Egypt. When the

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

ians invaded on 15 May 1948, their forces advanced and captured the police station, Iraq-Suweidan, a

Tegart fort A Tegart fort is a type of militarized police fort constructed throughout Palestine during the British Mandatory period, initiated as a measure against the 1936–1939 Arab Revolt. Etymology The forts are named after their designer, British p ...

named after the nearby Arab village, that controlled the route to the

. Aside from the police station, the Egyptians seized Arab villages near the kibbutz, from which they attacked Jewish vehicles travelling on the roads from Ashkelon to Hebron and Jerusalem. The kibbutz was destroyed in the heavy fighting which went on for three months. On 9 November 1948, after the defeat of the Egyptian army in

Operation Yoav Operation Yoav (also called ''Operation Ten Plagues'' or ''Operation Yo'av'') was an Israeli military operation carried out from 15–22 October 1948 in the Negev Desert, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Its goal was to drive a wedge between th ...

, the police station was captured by 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 ...

. A memorial to the fallen soldiers was constructed next to the military cemetery: a man and a woman from the kibbutz with a fighting soldier. Next to the memorial statue stands an Egyptian tank. The kibbutz water tower, pockmarked with bullet holes, is a testimony to the fierce battle.

Gallery

File:נגבה - העליה לנגבה-JNF026081.jpeg, Negba foundation 1939 File:Negba-homa-u-migdal.jpg, Tower and stockade replica File:מראה כללי של נגבה בחוף הנגב-JNF002733.jpeg, Negba 1942 Image:Metzudat-Yoav001.jpg, "Meztudat Yoav", the former Iraq Suweidan police station File:Rapoport negba.jpg,

Nathan Rapoport Nathan Rapoport (1911–1987) was a Warsaw-born Jewish sculptor and painter, later a resident of Israel and then the United States. Biography Natan Yaakov Rapoport was born in Warsaw, Poland. In 1936, he won a scholarship to study in France and ...

, memorial to the participants in the 1948 battles

Economy

The kibbutz economy is based on poultry, cattle, orchards, vegetables and two factories. It also has a history museum featuring a reconstructed model of the tower and stockade settlements. Negba, along with

Sde Yoav Sde Yoav ( he, שְׂדֵה יוֹאָב, ''lit.'' Yoav's Field) is a kibbutz in southcentral Israel. Located between the cities of Kiryat Gat, Kiryat Malakhi and Ashkelon, it falls under the jurisdiction of Yoav Regional Council. In it had a po ...

, operate Hamei Yoav, a spa with hot springs and thermo-mineral baths. Under a new financial arrangement, members who left the kibbutz are able to return as "economically independent members." They live in residences registered in their own name and are partners with equal rights and obligations in the communal element of the kibbutz (education, culture, welfare and infrastructure) but not in the productive assets (agriculture, industrial enterprises and shares in the dairy cooperative

Tnuva Tnuva, or Tenuvah, ( he, תנובה, ''fruit'' or ''produce'') is an Israeli food creation and marketing company. The company holds in Israel a significant market share in the field of drinking milk production, dairy products and its marketing. ...

).Less equality, more freedom and Kibbutz Negba's prodigal sons return
Haaretz

Geography

Climate

Notable residents

Yossi Peled Yossi Peled ( he, יוסי פלד, born 18 January 1941) is an Israeli general and politician, the former Aluf of the Northern Command in the Israel Defense Forces. Biography Early life Yossi Peled was born Jozef (Jeffke) Mendelevich in Belgiu ...

(born 1941), Israeli general and politician *

Anat Maor Anat Maor ( he, ענת מאור, born 28 May 1945) is a former Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Meretz between 1992 and 2003. Biography Born in kibbutz Negba during the Mandate era, Maor studied at Tel Aviv Universi ...

(born 1945), Israeli politician *

Avshalom Vilan Avshalom Vilan ( he, אבשלום וילן, born 11 February 1951) is an Israeli politician and economist. He served as a Knesset member for Meretz between 1999 and 2009. Biography Avshalom Vilan was born on Kibbutz Negba. He served in the I ...

(born 1951), Israeli politician and economist

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Kibbutzim Kibbutz Movement Populated places established in 1939 1939 establishments in Mandatory Palestine Populated places in Southern District (Israel)