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. Located in the northern Negev desert near the cities of Kiryat Malakhi and Ashkelon, it falls under the jurisdiction of Yoav Regional Council. In it had a population of . The name of the kibbutz is based on a verse in the Book of Genesis (13:14), where God commands Abraham 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.

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

Geography

Climate

Notable residents

* Yossi Peled (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)