11 points in the Negev ( or , ''Achat-Esre HaNekudot'') refers to a
Jewish Agency
The Jewish Agency for Israel (), formerly known as the Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. It was established in 1929 as the operative branch of the World Zionist Organization (WZO).
As an ...
plan to establish eleven settlements in the
Negev
The Negev ( ; ) or 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 southern end is the Gulf of Aqaba and the resort town, resort city ...
in 1946 prior to the
partition of Palestine and the establishment of the
State of Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
.
History
A plan to establish eleven "points" of
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
settlement in the Negev was devised to assure a Jewish presence in the area prior to the
partition of Palestine. That followed the publication of the
Morrison-Grady Plan, a partition proposal in which the Negev was to be part of an Arab state.
[ Boeliem]
Together, the
Jewish National Fund, the Jewish Agency, the
Haganah
Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist political violence, Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the reg ...
and the
Mekorot water company launched a drive to settle the Negev and hopefully to have the Negev included as part of a Jewish state.
Chief engineer of the Mekorot
Simcha Blass, who later became known as the inventor of the
drip irrigation
Drip irrigation or trickle irrigation is a type of micro-irrigation system that has the potential to save water and nutrients by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of plants, either from above the soil surface or buried below the surfac ...
system, designed a water pipeline to the northern Negev.
On the night of October 5–6, 1946, after the
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur ( ; , ) is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, corresponding to a date in late September or early October.
For traditional Jewish people, it is primarily centered on atonement and ...
fast, the settlers, including members of
Kibbutz
A kibbutz ( / , ; : kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania Alef, Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economi ...
Ruhama and
Gvulot, set up camp at eleven pre-determined locations in the Negev. The eleven settlements were (in alphabetic order):
[
* Be'eri
* Gal On
*]Hatzerim
Hatzerim (, ''lit.'' Farmyards) is a kibbutz located 8 kilometers west of Beersheba in the Negev desert in Israel. It is named after the Bible (Deuteronomy 2:23), mentioning a site nearby: "the Avvites who lived in farmyards as far as Gaza". It b ...
* Kedma
* Kfar Darom
* Mishmar HaNegev
* Nevatim
* Nirim
* Shoval
* Tkuma
* Urim
Legacy and commemoration
Today a museum celebrating the eleven points is located in Revivim.Follow Settlement and Agriculture in the Northern Negev
Cycling in Israel In 1996
Israel Post released a stamp celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of their settlement.
[
]
See also
* Three lookouts
* Blueprint Negev
References
External links
"The great drift"
''The Jerusalem Post
''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English language, English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Mandatory Palestine, Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''Th ...
'', 25 January 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:11 Points In The Negev
1946 in Mandatory Palestine
Negev
Settlement schemes in Mandatory Palestine