Erez (, ) is a

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 ...

in southwestern

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 ...

. Located just north of 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 ...

, it is the namesake of the nearby Erez Crossing. The kibbutz was founded in 1949 and moved to its current location in 1950. In 2019, it had a population of 558. 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 ...

around south of the coastal city of

Ashkelon Ashkelon ( ; , ; ) or Ashqelon, is a coastal city in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with the Gaza Strip. The modern city i ...

, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Shaʽar HaNegev Regional Council.

History

Erez is named after the first group that settled the

, who were members of the Noar HaOved from

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva (, ), also spelt Petah Tiqwa and known informally as Em HaMoshavot (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of the Old Y ...

. It was founded in 1949. Archaeological discoveries from Erez include a statue of a

griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk ...

with a

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

dedication by a priest, dating to 210/211 AD. Additionally, fragments of Greek inscriptions, one potentially

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, have been found here.

1948 Arab-Israeli war

Before the founding of the kibbutz the Palestinian village of Dimrah (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: دمرة) existed on the same land, with a population of 520 in 1945. On October 31, 1948, during the

1948 Palestine War The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. During the war, the British withdrew from Palestine, Zionist forces conquered territory and established the Stat ...

, the village evacuated all women and children. Nothing specific is known of when the men left. However, the

Arab Liberation Army The Arab Liberation Army (ALA; , better translated as Arab Rescue Army (ARA) or Arab Salvation Army (ASA), was an army of volunteers from Arab countries led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji. It fought on the Arab side in the 1948 Palestine war. It was set ...

often required men to stay and fight alongside its armed forces, all of whom would have been forced to withdraw if, as at Dimra, they were defeated.

2023 Hamas attack

On 7 October 2023, the kibbutz was attacked in the opening stage of the

2023 Israel-Hamas war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

. The kibbutz security team repulsed the attack in an hours-long battle, losing one of its members, Amir Naim. Two others were injured and received treatment outside the kibbutz. The security team of Kibbutz assembled to prevent the Hamas soldiers from entering the kibbutz through the main gate. After contacting the IDF they were informed that no help is coming. A firefight involving rifles, grenades and RPGs ensued. The whole kibbutz was evacuated to a Hotel in Mitzpe Ramon. After several weeks, makeshift schools were established. Since then the kibbutz population was relocated to Kiryat Gat.Kibbutz movement in crisis Larry Barzelai

Economy

The

has three main industries: agriculture (arable and fruit farming as well as

animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, animal fiber, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising ...

), manufacturing (Erez Thermoplastics Products manufactures plastic-covered materials), and

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in some countries as OKB, experiment and design, is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products. R&D constitutes the first stage ...

. ErezDinningRoom03.jpg, The Dining Room ErezDinningRoom01.jpg, The Dining Room ErezDinningRoom02.jpg, The Dining Room ErezProtected-space.jpg, Protected space near the dining room

Notable people

Keren Neubach Keren Neubach (; born March 28, 1970) is an Israeli journalist, television presenter for the Israeli (government) Channel 1, and radio presenter for Reshet Bet. Biography Keren Neubach was born in kibbutz Erez, daughter of businessman Amnon Neuba ...

References

Kibbutz movement in crisis. Article by Larry Barzelai)

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Kibbutzim Kibbutz Movement Populated places established in 1949 Populated places established in 1950 Gaza envelope Populated places in Southern District (Israel) 1949 establishments in Israel 1950 establishments in Israel