Shahar (, lit. "Dawn") is a

moshav A moshav (, plural ', "settlement, village") is a type of Israeli village or town or Jewish settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 and 1 ...

in south-central

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 about three kilometres west of

Kiryat Gat Kiryat Gat () also spelled Qiryat Gat, is a city in the Southern District of Israel. It lies south of Tel Aviv, north of Beersheba, and west southwest of Jerusalem. In it had a population of . The city hosts one of the most advanced semicondu ...

and one kilometre east of Nir Hen, it falls under the jurisdiction of

Lakhish Regional Council Lakhish Regional Council (, ''Mo'atza Azorit Lakhish'') is a regional council in the Southern District of Israel. It surrounds the ancient city of Lakhish and the modern city of Kiryat Gat. It was founded in 1955. Today it includes 15 moshavim ...

. In it had a population of .

History

The moshav was founded in 1955 as part of the program to populate the area with Jewish refugees from

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

and

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

immigrants from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

on the lands of the depopulated

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

village of

al-Faluja al-Faluja () was a Palestinian Arab village in the British Mandate for Palestine, located 30 kilometers northeast of Gaza City. Al-Faluja absorbed settlers from various areas, including Dura.Grossman, D. (1986). "Oscillations in the Rural S ...

. Its name symbolizes the dawn of

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

settlement in Hevel Lakhish. The main industry that they developed was growing flowers for export, an enterprise which, despite the harsh desert climate, grew and prospered. One of Shahar's leading businessmen, Eliahu Bezalel, won the Kaplan Prize in 1994 and then the

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (, ()) is a celebratory day observed (starting in 2003) on 9 January by the Republic of India to mark the contribution of the Overseas Indian community towards the development of India. The day commemorates the return ...

(an award for

Non-Resident Indians Overseas Indians (ISO: ), officially Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and People of Indian Origin (PIOs) are people of Indian descent who reside or originate outside of India (Including those that were directly under the British Raj). According to t ...

), in recognition of these achievements."Roses in the Desert", a chapter within ''The Last Jews of Kerala'' by Edna Fernanades, Porobelo Books, 2008

References

{{Lakhish Moshavim Populated places established in 1955 Populated places in Southern District (Israel) 1955 establishments in Israel Indian-Jewish culture in Israel North African-Jewish culture in Israel