Yad Mordechai ( he, יַד מָרְדְּכַי, ''lit.'' Memorial of Mordechai) is a kibbutz in

Southern Israel The Southern District ( he, מחוז הדרום, ''Meḥoz HaDarom''; ar, لواء الجنوب) is one of Israel's six administrative districts, the largest in terms of land area but the most sparsely populated. It covers most of the Negev d ...

. Located 10 km (6.2 mi) south of

Ashkelon Ashkelon or Ashqelon (; Hebrew: , , ; Philistine: ), also known as Ascalon (; Ancient Greek: , ; Arabic: , ), is a coastal city in the Southern District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border wit ...

, it falls under the jurisdiction of

Hof Ashkelon Regional Council Hof Ashkelon Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית חוף אשקלון, ''Mo'atza Azorit Hof Ashkelon'', ''lit.'' Ashkelon Coast Regional Council) is a regional council in the Southern District of Israel. The council is bordered to the n ...

. In it had a population of .

History

The

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, ...

was founded in 1936 by Hashomer Hatzair members from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

and initially organized themselves in a kibbutz called Mitzpe Yam close to Netanya, which was also founded in 1936. However, the 14 dunams allocated to the kibbutz were insufficient to develop the kibbutz. As part of settlement in the Negev, the community moved to its site near Ashkelon in December 1943. The kibbutz was renamed in memorial to

Mordechai Anielewicz Mordechai Anielewicz ( he, מרדכי אנילביץ'; 1919 – 8 May 1943) was the leader of the Jewish Fighting Organization ( pl, Żydowska Organizacja Bojowa, ŻOB), which led the Warsaw Ghetto uprising; the largest Jewish insurrection dur ...

, who was the first commander of the

Jewish Fighting Organization The Jewish Combat Organization ( pl, Żydowska Organizacja Bojowa, ŻOB; yi, ''Yidishe Kamf Organizatsie''; often translated to English as the Jewish Fighting Organization) was a World War II resistance movement in occupied Poland, which wa ...

in the

Warsaw Ghetto uprising The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising; pl, powstanie w getcie warszawskim; german: link=no, Aufstand im Warschauer Ghetto was the 1943 act of Jewish resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto in German-occupied Poland during World War II to oppose Nazi Germany' ...

. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the kibbutz was attacked by

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

in the

Battle of Yad Mordechai The Battle of Yad Mordechai was fought between Egypt and Israel in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, at the Israeli kibbutz of Yad Mordechai. The Egyptians attacked the settlement several times throughout May 19 and May 20, but failed to capture it. A ...

. Among the many Holocaust memorials in Israel, the "From Holocaust to Revival Museum" especially commemorates Jewish resistance against the Nazis as well as the 1948

. The statue of Anielewicz by Nathan Rapoport clutching a grenade, next to the water tower which was destroyed by the Egyptians in May 1948, is a noted symbol of the kibbutz. After 1948, Yad Mordechai expanded on the land of the

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

village of

Hiribya Hirbiya ( ar, هربيا) was a Palestinian Arab village in the Gaza Subdistrict, located northeast of Gaza along the southern coastal plain of Palestine. Situated where the Battle of La Forbie took place in 1244, it was depopulated during th ...

, which the Palestinians abandoned during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Yad-Mordechai-museum-1.jpg, Yad Mordechai Museum יד מרדכי - מראה.-JNF045578.jpeg, Yad Mordechai in 1941

Economy

The Yad Mordechai honey, jam and olive oil brands have been partnered with the Strauss food group.

Notable people

* Motty Perry (born 1949), Israeli academic

References

External links

Official website

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20061001141410/http://www.travelnet.co.il/israel/TelAviv/tel10-YAD_MORDECHAI.htm Yad MordechaiTravelnet {{authority control Kibbutzim Kibbutz Movement Populated places established in 1936 1936 establishments in Mandatory Palestine Populated places established in 1943 1943 establishments in Mandatory Palestine Jewish villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War Gaza envelope Populated places in Southern District (Israel) Polish-Jewish culture in Israel

History

Economy

Notable people

References

Further reading

External links