Gevim (, ''lit.'' Cisterns) 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 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 ...

. 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 near

Sderot Sderot (, , ; , sometimes Romanized as "Sederot") is a western Negev city and former development town in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel. In , it had a population of . Sderot is located less than a mile from Gaza St ...

, it falls under the jurisdiction of Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. In it had a population of .

History

The kibbutz was established in 1947 under the name Sde Akiva. The founding members were from the

Palmach The Palmach (Hebrew: , acronym for , ''Plugot Maḥatz'', "Strike Phalanges/Companies") was the elite combined strike forces and sayeret unit of the Haganah, the paramilitary organization of the Yishuv (Jewish community) during the period of th ...

and had previously been members of

HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed Histadrut HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed (), most commonly translated as Working and Studying Youth and colloquially known as Noar HaOved and abbreviated No'al (), is an Israeli youth movement, a sister movement of Habonim Dror, and affiliated with the ...

. It served as a headquarters for the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

during the

1948 Arab-Israeli War Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

, and was later renamed Gevim. File:, גבים - ישוב חדש בנגב-JNF040387.jpeg, Gevim. 28 August 1947 File:שדה עקיבא - גבים - ביום העליה ל"שדה עקיבא", בנגב-JNF040323.jpeg, Sde Akiva

Aliyah ''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine (region), Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the Israel ...

28 August 1947 File:שדה עקיבא - גבים - חברי קבוצת גבים במסיבת ייסוד ישובם "שדה עקיבא"-JNF040320.jpeg, Sde Akiva founders 1947 File:שדה עקיבא - גבים - בבוקר העליה , ישוב חדש בנגב. דוד לאספקת מים מובא למחנה.-JNF040322.jpeg, Sde Akiva water tank August 1947 File:Gevim iii.jpg, Kibbutz Gevim. 1948 File:Gevim ii.jpg, Members of

Yiftach Brigade The 11th Brigade (also known as the Yiftach Brigade) is a reserves unit in the Israel Defense Forces, composed mainly of fighters that completed their compulsory service in the Egoz Unit, Unit 621 – 'Egoz'. History In the 1948 Arab–Israeli ...

at Gevim. 1948 File:Gevim.jpg, Water supply, Gevim 1948 During the 2000s, the kibbutz suffered from the repeating

Qassam rocket The Qassam rocket ( ; also ''Kassam'') is a simple, steel artillery rocket developed and deployed by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of Hamas. These rockets cannot be fired to target specific military objectives in or near ci ...

attacks, with damage to buildings and minor injuries to residents. Based on an interview with the community manager of the kibbutz, the

Goldstone Report Goldstone may refer to: Places * Goldstone, Shropshire, a small village in Shropshire, England *Goldstone, California, a ghost town near the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex * Goldstone Lake, a dry lake in the Mojave Desert of San Bern ...

on the Gaza conflict stated that sixty percent of the kibbutz children received psychological counselling.

Economy

In addition to agriculture, the kibbutz has a plastics factory. Poleg Plastic Industries operates two plants, one on the kibbutz and the other in Leipzig, Germany. The company is jointly owned by Kibbutz Gevim and Poli-Film Group, a private German company.Terror takes its toll as Kibbutz Gevim's Poleg looks to add a new line, but not in Israel
Globes The kibbutz is located near Sha'ar HaNegev school and

Sapir Academic College Sapir College (, ''HaMikhlela HaAkademit Sapir'') is a college in Israel, located in the northwestern Negev desert near Sderot Sderot (, , ; , sometimes Romanized as "Sederot") is a western Negev city and former development town in the South ...

References

{{Authority control Kibbutzim Kibbutz Movement Populated places established in 1947 Gaza envelope 1947 establishments in Mandatory Palestine Populated places in Southern District (Israel)