Yad Mordechai (, ''lit.'' Memorial of Mordechai) 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. Located 10 km (6.2 mi) south 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

Hof Ashkelon Regional Council Hof Ashkelon Regional Council (, ''Mo'atza Azorit Hof Ashkelon'', ''lit.'' Ashkelon Coast Regional Council) is a regional council (Israel), regional council in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel. As of the year 2019, its po ...

. In it had a population of .

History

The

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

was founded in 1936 by

Hashomer Hatzair Hashomer Hatzair (, , 'The Young Guard') is a Labor Zionism, Labor Zionist, secular Jewish youth movement founded in 1913 in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austria-Hungary. It was also the name of the Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party, the ...

members from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and initially organized themselves in a kibbutz called Mitzpe Yam close to

Netanya Netanya () () or Natanya (), is a city in the "Planet Bekasi" Central District (Israel), Setanyahu of Israel, Israel BAB ih, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between the Poleg stre ...

, which was also founded in 1936. However, the 14

dunam A dunam ( Ottoman Turkish, Arabic: ; ; ; ), also known as a donum or dunum and as the old, Turkish, or Ottoman stremma, was the Ottoman unit of area analogous in role (but not equal) to the Greek stremma or English acre, representing the amo ...

s allocated to the kibbutz were insufficient to develop the kibbutz. As part of settlement in the Negev, the community moved to its site near Ashkelon in December 1943. The kibbutz was renamed in memorial to Mordechai Anielewicz, who was the first commander of the Jewish Fighting Organization in the

Warsaw Ghetto uprising The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was the 1943 act of Jewish resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto in German-occupied Poland during World War II to oppose Nazi Germany's final effort to transport the remaining ghetto population to the gas chambers of the ...

. During 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 ...

, the kibbutz was attacked by

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 ...

in the Battle of Yad Mordechai. Among the many Holocaust memorials in Israel, the "From Holocaust to Revival Museum" especially commemorates Jewish resistance against the Nazis as well as the 1948 Battle of Yad Mordechai. The statue of Anielewicz by Nathan Rapoport clutching a

grenade A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...

, next to the water tower which was destroyed by the Egyptians in May 1948, is a noted symbol of the kibbutz. After 1948, Yad Mordechai expanded on the land of the

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

Hiribya Hirbiya () was a Palestinian people, Palestinian Arab village in the Gaza Subdistrict, Mandatory Palestine, Gaza Subdistrict, located northeast of Gaza City, Gaza along the southern coastal plain of Palestine (region), Palestine. Situated where ...

, which Israel depopulated during the

. Yad-Mordechai-museum-1.jpg, Yad Mordechai Museum יד מרדכי - מראה.-JNF045578.jpeg, Yad Mordechai in 1941 During the 2023 Israel-Hamas war, in which more than 1,200 Israelis and foreigners were killed, Hamas gunmen attempted to infiltrate the kibbutz. The kibbutz security team repulsed the attack, emerging from the gate to engage the attackers and chasing them from the area. The kibbutz was also the target of several rocket attacks.

Economy

The Yad Mordechai honey, jam and olive oil brands have been partnered with the Strauss Group, an Israeli food products manufacturer.

Notable people

* Motty Perry (born 1949), Israeli academic *

Benny Gantz Benjamin Gantz ( ; born 9 June 1959) is an Israeli politician and retired army general. He served as a Minister without portfolio#Israel, minister without portfolio from 2023 to 2024, as the Ministry of Defense (Israel), minister of defense bet ...

(born 1959), Israeli Politician

References

External links

Official website

“From Holocaust to Revival Museum" website
Travelnet {{authority control Kibbutzim Kibbutz Movement Populated places established in 1936 1936 establishments in Mandatory Palestine Populated places established in 1943 1943 establishments in Mandatory Palestine Jewish villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War Gaza envelope Populated places in Southern District (Israel) Polish-Jewish culture in Israel

History

Economy

Notable people

References

Further reading

External links