Shekef ( he, שֶׁקֶף) 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 south-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 southeast of
Kiryat Gat
Kiryat Gat, also spelled Qiryat Gat ( he, קִרְיַת גַּת), is a city in the Southern District of Israel. It lies south of Tel Aviv, north of Beersheba, and from Jerusalem. In it had a population of . The city hosts one of the most a ...
and west of
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 ...
, it falls under the jurisdiction of
Lakhish Regional Council
Lakhish Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית לכיש, ''Mo'atza Azorit Lakhish'') is a regional council (Israel), regional council in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel. It surrounds the ancient city of Lachish, ...
. In it had a population of .
History
The village was founded by the
Herut
Herut ( he, חֵרוּת, ''Freedom'') was the major conservative nationalist political party in Israel from 1948 until its formal merger into Likud in 1988. It was an adherent of Revisionist Zionism.
History
Herut was founded by Menachem Begin ...
movement with
Betar
The Betar Movement ( he, תנועת בית"ר), also spelled Beitar (), is a Revisionist Zionist youth movement founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, by Vladimir (Ze'ev) Jabotinsky. Chapters sprang up across Europe, even during World War II. After t ...
and assistance from the
Jewish Agency
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. ...
in 1981 as part of the
Star Villages Plan of
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon (; ; ; also known by his diminutive Arik, , born Ariel Scheinermann, ; 26 February 1928 – 11 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006.
S ...
in an attempt to inhabit the region around the
Green Line for the extension of
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""Th ...
ish settlement in the line between
Mount Hebron
The Hebron Hills, also known as Mount Hebron ( ar, جبل الخليل, translit=Jabal al-Khalīl, he, הר חברון, translit=Har Hevron), are a mountain ridge, geographic region, and geologic formation, comprising the southern part of the J ...
. About 500 meters east of the community, beyond the
Israeli West Bank barrier
The Israeli West Bank barrier, comprising the West Bank Wall and the West Bank fence, is a separation barrier built by Israel along the Green Line and inside parts of the West Bank. It is a contentious element of the Israeli–Palestinian c ...
, is the Palestinian village of
Beit Awwa.
The moshav is located with a view in the border between the mountain and the desert and is found in a natural reserve. The moshav is surrounded by a natural forest and wildflowers. The moshav grows mainly grapes for eating and vegetables in greenhouses agriculture.
In 2006, a caravan village was founded within the moshav as a temporary settlement mainly for evacuees from
Tel Katifa
Tel Katifa ( he, תל קטיפא), was a small Israeli settlement located in the northeast end of the Gush Katif settlement bloc of the Gaza Strip, and evacuated in Israel's disengagement of 2005.
History
Tel Katifa was named after the adjacen ...
who lived in
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 ...
in 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.. ...
until
disengagement in 2005. The mixed community of
religious
Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sacred site, sanctified places, prophecy, prophecie ...
and non-religious families are slated to receive land nearby on which a new village called "Mirsham" will be built.
The name "Shakaf" is taken from the older village Umm al-Shakaf, located near the current moshav.
References
{{Authority control
Moshavim
Populated places established in 1981
Populated places in Southern District (Israel)
1981 establishments in Israel