Alumim () is a religious kibbutz located in the northwestern

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 ...

desert in southern

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 ...

, near the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

. The kibbutz was founded in 1966 by members of

Bnei Akiva Bnei Akiva (, , "Children of Akiva") is the largest religious Zionist youth movement in the world, with over 125,000 members in 42 countries. It was first established in Mandatory Palestine in 1929, advocating the values of Torah and labor. Bne ...

. It falls under the jurisdiction of

Sdot Negev Regional Council Sdot Negev Regional Council (, ''Mo'atza Azorit Sdot Negev'', ''lit.'' Negev Fields Regional Council), formerly Azata Regional Council (, ''Mo'atza Azorit Azata''), is a regional council (Israel), regional council in the northwestern Negev dese ...

. In it had a population of . During the

2023 Hamas attack on Israel On October 7, 2023, Hamas and several other Palestinian militant groups launched coordinated armed incursions from the Gaza Strip into the Gaza envelope of southern Israel, the first invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 Arab–Israeli ...

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

, there was a massacre at the kibbutz, with 22 workers from

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

and

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

murdered and 2 kidnapped. Bhipin Joshi from Nepal is still a hostage in Gaza.

History

Alumim was established in 1966 as a border settlement with

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

members from a

Nahal Nahal () (acronym of ''Noar Halutzi Lohem'', lit. Fighting Pioneer Youth) is a program that combines military service with mostly social welfare and informal education projects such as youth movement activities, as well as training in entrepr ...

gar'in Gar'in (, ''lit.'' kernel) is a Hebrew term used for groups of people who moved together to Ottoman Palestine, British Palestine, and since 1948, Israel.Joel Beinin The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry- 2005 9774248902 "arrived in Israel while the m ...

. Its land had belonged to the

Religious Kibbutz Movement The Religious Kibbutz Movement (, ''HaKibbutz HaDati'') is an organizational framework for Orthodox kibbutzim in Israel. Its membership includes 22 communities, 16 of them traditional kibbutzim, and 6 others in the category of Moshav shitufi, ...

since the 1940s and was previously farmed by kibbutz

Be'erot Yitzhak Be'erot Yitzhak () is a religious kibbutz in central Israel. Located near Yehud, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Modi'in Regional Council. In it had a population of . Kibbutz Be'erot Yitzhak was originally located in the Negev, near Ga ...

, which was relocated as a result of its destruction in the

1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. The civil war becam ...

. Over the years other Nahal groups joined the kibbutz, as well as groups of

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

from World Bnei Akiva. The largest groups from abroad came from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Today Alumim has nearly 200 members, around 110 families. About 20% of the membership are immigrants from the UK. Through ninth grade, the children of kibbutz Alumim attend Da'at Regional school in kibbutz

Sa'ad Sa'ad () is a religious kibbutz located in the northwestern Negev desert in southern Israel. Located near the Gaza Strip, and the cities of Sderot and Netivot, it falls under the jurisdiction of Sdot Negev Regional Council. In , it had a popul ...

. The

Alumim massacre On 7 October 2023, dozens of Hamas militants attacked Alumim, a kibbutz close to the border fence with the Gaza Strip, as part of the surprise attack on Israel. There were 41 Thai and Nepalese foreigners working at the kibbutz. The militants ...

was an attack which took place on 7 October 2023, as part of the surprise attack on Israel by

and the

Palestinian Islamic Jihad The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine (, ''Harakat al-Jihād al-Islāmi fi Filastīn''), commonly known simply as Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), is a Palestinian Islamist paramilitary organization formed in 1981. PIJ formed as an offsh ...

. During the attack, approximately 100 Hamas militants infiltrated Alumim. The infiltrators killed 22 foreign workers from

and

, and kidnapped 2 people, before the kibbutz's security team fought back. Two brothers from the Israeli city

Beersheba Beersheba ( / ; ), officially Be'er-Sheva, is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth-most p ...

who were IDF service came to participate in the kibbutz's defense during the fighting on their own initiative and were killed. The fighting continued for six hours until IDF troops arrived and cleared the kibbutz of militants. 35 of the Hamas infiltrators were killed while the rest fled.

Economy

The economy of Alumim is based on agriculture and tourism. Alumim has maintained the classic kibbutz collective life style. Each member receives an allowance based on his or her needs (size of family, age of children etc.). The allowance is not connected to the occupation of the member. There are no monetary incentives for any form of work. Chores such as serving in the dining hall, guard duty at night, milking the cows at the weekend are done on a rota basis. They produce and sell carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes and other organic products as well as avocado, chickens, and peppers. The kibbutz guest house has 22 self-contained apartments.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Kibbutzim Religious Kibbutz Movement Populated places established in 1966 Gaza envelope Populated places in Southern District (Israel) 1966 establishments in Israel British-Jewish culture in Israel