Revadim
Encyclopedia
Revadim is a kibbutz
Kibbutz
A 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...

  in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 on the southern coastal plain
Israeli Coastal Plain
The Israeli coastal plain is the narrow coastal plain along Israel's Mediterranean Sea coast which houses 70% of the country's population. The plain extends north to south and is divided into a number of areas; the Plain of Zebulun , Hof HaCarmel , the Sharon plain , and the Plain of Judea The...

. It is under the administration of the Yoav Regional Council
Yoav Regional Council
Yoav Regional Council is a regional council in the South District of Israel. It is located near the cities of Kiryat Gat, Kiryat Malakhi and Ashkelon...

 and affiliated with the Hashomer Hatza'ir movement.

History

Revadim was originally founded on February 14, 1947 as the fourth settlement of the Etzion Bloc
Gush Etzion
Gush Etzion is a cluster of Israeli settlements located in the Judaean Mountains directly south of Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the West Bank, Palestinian territories. The core group includes four agricultural villages that were founded in 1940-1947 on property purchased in the 1920s and 1930s, and ...

 in the Hebron Hills. It was established by the Tsabar pioneering group on tracts of land purchased by the Jewish National Fund
Jewish National Fund
The 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...

 in Ein Abu Zeid and Shuweika.While the land was being reclassified as musha'a, the group cleared 100 dunams, 70 in Ein Abu Zeid and 30 in Wadi Abu Nofal, where the JNF owned a tract of mafruz. Plans included the reclamation of 70 dunams in Wadi Abu Nofal and 150 in Dhahr al-Masatikh, which were acquired as part of a land exchange agreement.

On May 13, 1948, the village was razed to the ground by the Arab Legion
Arab Legion
The Arab Legion was the regular army of Transjordan and then Jordan in the early part of the 20th century.-Creation:...

. Survivors were taken prisoner by Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

. The kibbutz was re-established in a new location on November 28, 1948. The released POWs were joined by immigrants from Bulgaria and other countries.

In 2002, Revadim had a population of 296. The economy is based on tourism and small industry. It operates a guest rooms and a museum of antiquities. The Roman Glass Co. designs original jewelry for a worldwide market.

Landmarks

The kibbutz has a memorial for members who fell in the Israeli War of Independence. Tel Miqne-Ekron, an archaeological tel
TEL
- Acronyms :TEL is a three-letter acronym for:* Tetra-ethyl lead, a gasoline additive to make leaded gasoline* Tokyo Electron, a semiconductor equipment manufacturer* Transporter erector launcher, a mobile missile launch platform...

 on the grounds of the kibbutz, is believed to be the site of the Biblical city of Ekron
Ekron
The city of Ekron , was one of the five cities of the famed Philistine pentapolis, located in southwestern Canaan. Ekron lies 35 kilometers west of Jerusalem, and 18 kilometers north of ancient Gath, on the eastern edge of Israel's coastal plain.-History:...

.A reconstructed Philistine street is open to visitors. The kibbutz operates the Ekron Museum of the History of Philistine Culture which displays finds from the excavations.

Archaeology

Tel Miqne-Ekron is one of the largest Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...

sites in Israel. Archaeologists have discovered over 100 oil presses there, as well as the Ekron Inscription, which identifies the site as Philistine Ekron. Tel Miqne (Khirbat al-Muqanna') dates to the 12th century BC. The city is mentioned in Joshua 13:2-3 and I Samuel 5:10 in relation to the Ark of the Covenant. After the arrival of the Philistines, one of the Sea Peoples, Ekron became a fortified urban center that supplied Egypt and the Assyrian empire with 700 tons of olive oil a year, making it the largest olive oil industrial center in the ancient Middle East. The reconstructed Philistine street features an oil press, a potters’ wheel and a loom, attesting to an active textile industry.

External links

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