Gvulot ( he, גְּבוּלוֹת, ''lit.'' "Borders") 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 north-western

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, it falls under the jurisdiction of

Eshkol Regional Council Eshkol Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית אשכול, ''Mo'atza Ezorit Eshkol'') is a regional council in the north-western Negev, in Israel's Southern District. The regional council's territory lies midway between Ashkelon and Beersh ...

. In it had a population of . Gvulot is located about 120 m above sea level.

History

The village was established on land owned by the

Jewish National Fund Jewish National Fund ( he, קֶרֶן קַיֶּימֶת לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Keren Kayemet LeYisrael'', previously , ''Ha Fund HaLeumi'') was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Syria (later Mandatory Palestine, and subseq ...

(JNF) on 12 May 1943 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

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, who were members of the "Kibbutz Eretz Israel Gimel" group 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 ...

, with financial assistance from

Keren Hayesod Keren Hayesod – United Israel Appeal ( he, קרן היסוד, literally "The Foundation Fund") is an official fundraising organization for Israel with branches in 45 countries. Its work is carried out in accordance with the Keren haYesod Law-5 ...

. Initially named Mitzpe Gvulot ( he, מִצְפֶּה גְּבוּלוֹת, ''lit.'' Borders lookout), it was the first of the

three lookouts The three lookouts ( he, שלושת המצפים, ''Shloshet HaMitzpim'', also ''Mitzpot'') were three Jewish settlements built in the Negev desert in 1943 on land owned by the Jewish National Fund. The goal was securing the land and assessing i ...

, the others being

Beit Eshel Beit Eshel ( he, בֵּית אֵשֶׁל) was a Jewish settlement established in the Negev desert in Mandate Palestine in 1943 as one of the three lookouts, alongside Revivim and Gvulot. It was located two kilometres southeast of Beersheba. Ac ...

and

Revivim Revivim ( he, רְבִיבִים, , (rain) showers) is a kibbutz in the Negev desert in southern Israel. Located around half an hour south of Beersheba, it falls under the jurisdiction of Ramat HaNegev Regional Council. In it had a population of ...

. It was the second modern

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 Negev and the first in the Gaza area.Mitzpe Gvulot - The first lookout in the Negev
Kibbutz Gvulot Its purpose was to guard JNF land, as well as to research the soil and climate of the region and assess their suitability for agriculture. It was recognised as a kibbutz in 1946. Before 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 ...

it was divided into two—a small cluster of families in its post-war location, and the rest in the nearby military base. During the war, the base served the 8th Brigade. After the war, in 1949, all the residents moved to Gvulot's present location, about 1.5 km south of the base.

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...

lead singer

Simon Le Bon Simon John Charles Le Bon (born 27 October 1958) is a British singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the new wave band Duran Duran and its offshoot Arcadia. Le Bon has received three Ivor Novello Awards from the British ...

worked on Kibbutz Gvulot. While here he wrote early lyrics for "Careless Memories", “The Chaffeur”, "Sound of Thunder", "Tel Aviv".

References

External links

Official website
{{Eshkol Regional Council Kibbutzim Kibbutz Movement Populated places established in 1943 Populated places in Southern District (Israel) Romanian-Jewish culture in Israel Turkish-Jewish culture in Israel 1943 establishments in Mandatory Palestine