Luzit ( he, לוּזִית, ''lit.'' Almond Tree) is a
moshav
A moshav ( he, מוֹשָׁב, plural ', lit. ''settlement, village'') is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 an ...
in central
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. Located between
Beit Shemesh
Beit Shemesh ( he, בֵּית שֶׁמֶשׁ ) is a city located approximately west of Jerusalem in Israel's Jerusalem District, with a population of in .
History Tel Beit Shemesh
The small archaeological tell northeast of the modern city wa ...
and
Kiryat Gat
Kiryat Gat, also spelled Qiryat Gat ( he, קִרְיַת גַּת), is a city in the Southern District of Israel. It lies south of Tel Aviv, north of Beersheba, and from Jerusalem. In it had a population of . The city hosts one of the most a ...
, it falls under the jurisdiction of
Mateh Yehuda Regional Council
Mateh Yehuda Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית מטה יהודה, ''Mo'atza Azorit Mateh Yehuda'', ar, مجلس إقليمي ماتيه يهودا ) is a regional council in the Jerusalem District of Israel. In 2008 it was home to 3 ...
. In it had a population of .
History
The village was established in 1955 by Sephardic
Jewish immigrants and refugees from
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
, led by Shalom de Palenzuela Levi-Kahana and was initially named Dir Duban Bet after the depopulated Arab village of
Deir al-Dubban
Deir al-Dubban ( ar, دير الدبان, from ''Dayr ad-Dhubban'', literally, the "Monastery of the Flies") was a small Palestinian village northwest of Hebron, near the modern village of Luzit, between Jerusalem, and Ashkelon. Sharon, 2004, pp 2 ...
. It was later renamed Luzit after
almond
The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ...
trees, which are common in the area.
References
{{Authority control
Moshavim
Populated places established in 1955
Populated places in Jerusalem District
1955 establishments in Israel
North African-Jewish culture in Israel