District Southern Affiliation HaOved HaTzioni Founded by New immigrants Local time Tuesday 10:40 AM | Council Hof Ashkelon Founded 1943 Population (2015) 341 | |
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Weather 18°C, Wind S at 8 km/h, 63% Humidity | ||
Nitzanim (Hebrew: נִצָּנִים, lit. Flower buds) is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located between Ashkelon and Ashdod on the Nitzanim dunes, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof Ashkelon Regional Council. In 2015 it had a population of 341.
Contents
Map of Nitzanim, Israel
History
Kibbutz Nitzanim was established on 400 acre plot of land purchased by the Jewish National Fund in 1942. On the grounds was a large building that became known as the "mansion." The first residents were new immigrants, some of them Holocaust survivors. The kibbutz later absorbed additional immigrants from Poland and Romania.
The kibbutz was bombarded and captured by the Egyptian army during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War in the Battle of Nitzanim. Of Nitzanim's 141 members, 37 were killed and many were taken prisoner.
Following the war, the kibbutz was moved four kilometres south of the original location, whilst the original site of the kibbutz became Nitzanim Youth Village in 1949. After the youth village closed in 1990, the communal settlement of Nitzan was founded there. Nitzanim is surrounded by a nature reserve.