Otzem () is a moshav 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 Hevel Lakhish, it falls under the jurisdiction of

Lakhish Regional Council Lakhish Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית לכיש, ''Mo'atza Azorit Lakhish'') is a regional council in the Southern District of Israel. It surrounds the ancient city of Lakhish and the modern city of Kiryat Gat. It was founded in 1 ...

. In it had a population of .

History

The moshav was founded in 1955 by

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ish immigrants from

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

as part of the effort to settle the region on land that had belonged to 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

Iraq Suwaydan Iraq Suwaydan ( ar, عراق سويدان, he, עיראק סווידאן) was a Palestinian Arab village located northeast of Gaza City. It was captured by Israeli forces in Operation Yoav against the defending Egyptian Army during the 1948 ...

. The name, which means "intensity", refers to the intensity of the battles that took place here between the Israel Defense Forces and 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 Medit ...

ian army during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.

References

Moshavim Lakhish Regional Council Populated places established in 1955 Populated places in Southern District (Israel) 1955 establishments in Israel Moroccan-Jewish culture in Israel {{Israel-geo-stub