District Southern Affiliation Kibbutz Movement Population (2015) 786 Founded 6 October 1946 | Council Bnei Shimon Founded by Israeli Scouts Name meaning Farmyards Local time Saturday 4:36 AM | |
Weather 13°C, Wind NE at 8 km/h, 59% Humidity | ||
Hatzerim (Hebrew: חֲצֵרִים, lit. Farmyards) is a kibbutz located 8 kilometers west of Beersheba in the Negev desert in Israel. It is named after the Bible (Deuteronomy 2:23), mentioning a site nearby: "the Avvites who lived in farmyards as far as Gaza". It belongs to the Bnei Shimon Regional Council. In 2015 it had a population of 786.
Contents
Map of Hatzerim, Israel
History
Established in October 1946 by a young group of scouts then later joined by refugees from Iran who were referred to as “The Children of Tehran”. They then learned agriculture and military training becoming part of the Haganah ground forces. In the 1960s the Hatzerim Airbase was built nearby.
Netafim
Hatzerim was one of the first kibbutzim (pl.) to break the mould from traditional agriculture and start a business. Netafim is the kibbutz business that started in 1965, that designs, manufactures and distributes irrigation systems. The business is also run with two other kibbutzim, Magal and Yiftach. There are also factories around the world, California, USA, South Africa, Western Australia and more. Netafim soon became a world leader in their field as a multinational corporation that grosses over $300 million a year.