11 points in the Negev refers to a
Jewish AgencyThe Jewish Agency for Israel , also known as the Sochnut or JAFI, served as the organization in charge of immigration and absorption of Jews from the Diaspora into the state of Israel.-History:...
plan for establishing eleven settlements in the
NegevThe Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The Arabs, including the native Bedouin population of the region, refer to the desert as al-Naqab. The origin of the word Neghebh is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...
in 1946, prior to the establishment of the State of Israel.
History
A plan to establish eleven "points" of Jewish settlement in the Negev was devised in order to assure a Jewish presence in the area prior to the partition of Palestine. This followed the publication of the Morrison-Grady partition proposal, in which the Negev was excluded from Jewish state and settlement there would be prohibited. Together, the
Jewish National FundThe Jewish National Fund was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Palestine for Jewish settlement. The JNF is a quasi-governmental, non-profit organisation...
, the Jewish Agency, the
HaganahHaganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
and the
MekorotMekorot is the national water company of Israel and the country's top agency for water management.Mekorot was founded in 1937. It supplies 90% of Israel's drinking water and 80% of its water supplies. The company runs 3,000 installations throughout the country for water supply, water quality,...
water company launched a drive to settle the Negev and hopefully retain it as part of a Jewish state.
On the night of October 5–6, after the
Yom KippurYom Kippur , also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue...
fast, the settlers, included members of
KibbutzA kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
RuhamaRuhama is a kibbutz in the Negev desert in southern Israel. The original settlement established in 1911, is considered the first modern Jewish settlement in the Negev....
and
GvulotGvulot is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located in the north-western Negev desert, it falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 239....
, set up camp at eleven pre-determined locations in the Negev.
The eleven settlements were:
- Be'eri
Be'eri is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located in the north-western Negev desert near the border with the Gaza Strip, it falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 774.-History:...
- Gal On
Gal On is a kibbutz in Israel's southern lowlands associated with the Hashomer Hatzair movement and its Kibbutz Artzi settlement organisation . Established as part of the 1946 11 points in the Negev settlement drive, it is located approximately ten kilometers north east of Kiryat Gat and two...
- Hatzerim
Hatzerim is a kibbutz located 8 kilometers west of Beersheba in the Negev desert in Israel. It is named after the Bible , mentionning a site nearby: "the Avvites who lived in farmyards as far as Gaza".-History:...
- Kedma
Kedma is a youth village in the Shephelah area of south-central Israel. It is under the jurisdiction of Yoav Regional Council.-History:Kedma was founded as a kibbutz as part of the 11 points in the Negev campaign in 1946...
- Kfar Darom
Kfar Darom was a kibbutz and an Israeli settlement within the Gush Katif bloc in the Gaza Strip.-Original kibbutz:Kfar Darom was founded on 250 dunams of land purchased in 1930 by Tuvia Miller for a fruit orchard on the site of an ancient Jewish settlement of the same name mentioned in the Talmud...
- Mishmar HaNegev
Mishmar HaNegev is a kibbutz in the northern fringe of the Negev desert in Israel. It is located on Road 264, about 2 kilometres south of the Bedouin city of Rahat and around 10 km from Beersheba and is part of the Bnei Shimon Regional Council...
- Nevatim
Nevatim is a moshav in southern Israel. Located in the northern Negev desert around south-east of Beersheba, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bnei Shimon Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 629....
- Nirim
Nirim is a kibbutz in the northwestern Negev in Israel. Located near the border with the Gaza Strip, about 7 kilometers east of Khan Yunis, it falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Council...
- Shoval
Shoval is a kibbutz in the northern Negev desert in Israel. Located near the Bedouin city of Rahat, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bnei Shimon Regional Council.-History:...
- Tkuma
Tkuma is a religious moshav in southern Israel. Located north-west of Netivot, it falls under the jurisdiction of Sdot Negev Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 514.-History:...
- Urim
Urim is a kibbutz in the Negev desert in southern Israel. Located near the border of the Gaza Strip and about 30 kilometers west of Beersheba, the kibbutz falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Council.-History:...
Legacy and commemoration
Today a museum celebrating the eleven points is located in
RevivimRevivim showers) is a kibbutz in the Negev desert in southern Israel. Located around half an hour south of Beersheba, it falls under the jurisdiction of Ramat HaNegev Regional Council...
. In 1996
Israel PostThe postage stamps and postal history of Israel is a survey of the postage stamps issued by the state of Israel, and its postal history, since independence was proclaimed on May 14, 1948. The first postage stamps were issued two days later on May 16, 1948...
released a stamp celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of their settlement.
External links