Tzelafon ( he, צְלָפוֹן) 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 to the north of

Beit Shemesh Beit Shemesh ( he, בֵּית שֶׁמֶשׁ ) is a city located approximately west of Jerusalem in Israel's Jerusalem District, with a population of in . History Tel Beit Shemesh The small archaeological tell northeast of the modern city wa ...

, it falls under the jurisdiction of

Mateh Yehuda Regional Council Mateh Yehuda Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית מטה יהודה, ''Mo'atza Azorit Mateh Yehuda'', ar, مجلس إقليمي ماتيه يهودا ) is a regional council in the Jerusalem District of Israel. In 2008 it was home to 3 ...

. In it had a population of .

History

The village was established in 1950 by

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

from

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

on the land of the depopulated Palestinian village of Bayt Jiz. They were later joined by more 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 to ...

, who arrived in Israel in 1955. It was possibly named after the ancient city of Tzelafon (which was located in the area and named after

Zelelponith Hazzelelponi ( he, הַצְּלֶלְפּוֹנִי ''Haṣṣəlelpōnī'', "the shade-facing") is a biblical woman mentioned in 1 Chronicles 4:3. Tzelafon was named after her. Hazzelelponi was a daughter of a man named Etam and thus a descendan ...

) or for the

capparis ''Capparis'' is a flowering plant genus, comprising around 250 species in the family Capparaceae which is included in the Brassicaceae in the unrevised APG II system. These plants are shrubs or lianas and are collectively known as caper shrubs o ...

(Hebrew: Tzalaf) bushes in the area.Yoav Regev (2001) ''New Israel Guide, Vol. 10: The Shephelah'', Keter, Yedioth Ahronoth and the Ministry of Defense

References

{{Mateh Yehuda Regional Council Moshavim Populated places established in 1950 Populated places in Jerusalem District Yemeni-Jewish culture in Israel 1950 establishments in Israel Moroccan-Jewish culture in Israel