Zikim

Place in Southern, Israel

Zikim 31°36′28″N 34°31′18″E / 31.60778°N 34.52167°E / 31.60778; 34.52167
Country	Israel
District	Southern
Council	Hof Ashkelon
Affiliation	Kibbutz Movement
Founded	1949
Founded by	Romanian Hashomer HaTzair Members
Population (2022)^[1]	918
Website	www.zikim.org.il

Zikim (Hebrew: זִיקִים) is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located in the northern Negev desert, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof Ashkelon Regional Council. In 2022, it had a population of 918.^[1]

History

For settlement history preceding the kibbutz, see Hiribya: History. Ancient discoveries in Zikim comprise a Greek graffito on the base of a high-quality plate dating from 144-160 BCE, and Greek inscriptions on Gazan jars from the 6th to early 7th century CE.^[2]

The kibbutz was established in 1949 on land that had belonged to the depopulated Palestinian village of Hiribya,^[3] by a group of young Romanian Jews who belonged to Hashomer Hatzair before their arrival in Mandatory Palestine in 1947.^{[citation needed]}

At that time, Jewish settlement in the Negev was very sparse, and each new location was considered to be a "point of light" (zik) in the wilderness. Michael Har-Segor, later an Israeli historian, came up with the name while imprisoned in Romania for his activity in Hashomer Hatzair. He says he translated a quote from Pushkin into Hebrew: "From sparks shall come a flame."^[4]

Zikim attracted members of Hashomer Hatzair from around the world, most recently from South America. British actor Bob Hoskins, although not Jewish, worked as a volunteer in Zikim in 1967.^[5]

In 2006, a Qassam rocket fired from northern Gaza hit a mattress factory in Zikim. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the rocket attack.^[6] In July 2014, five armed Palestinians attempted to cross into Israel via the beach at Kibbutz Zikim. They were killed by IDF gunfire.^[7]

On 7 October 2023, as part of an attack on Israel, Hamas amphibiously assaulted the Zikim training base and Zikim kibbutz.^[8] Hamas killed 19 civilians,^[9] 8 soldiers and left dozens wounded in the Zikim Beach massacre.^[10]^[11]^[12]

Economy

The main crops are mango and avocado. Zikim also operates one of Israel's largest dairy farms. The main industrial product is polyurethane, produced by the kibbutz factory, Polyrit.^[13]

Notable people

References

^ ^a ^b "Regional Statistics". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
^ "XIX. Ziqim", Volume 3 South Coast: 2161-2648, De Gruyter, pp. 367–370, 2014-07-14, doi:10.1515/9783110337679.367, ISBN 978-3-11-033767-9, retrieved 2024-02-25
^ Khalidi, Walid (1992). All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948. Washington D.C.: Institute for Palestine Studies. p. 102. ISBN 0-88728-224-5.
^ Past Perfect Archived 2009-12-19 at the Wayback Machine Haaretz; accessed 20 May 2018.
^ Yaakov, Yifa (May 1, 2014). "Bob Hoskins, kibbutz volunteer". The Times of Israel. Associated Press. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
^ Katz, Yaakov (April 6, 2006). "Kassam hits factory in Kibbutz Zikim". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
^ Lappin, Yaakov (July 8, 2014). "WATCH: IDF kills 5 Hamas terrorists attempting to infiltrate from the sea". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
^ "Videos show new details on how Hamas launched surprise assault on Israel". CNN. 2023-10-09. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
^ קוריאל, אילנה (2023-11-04). "אלינה בילתה עם חבריה, אריה ואלי יצאו לדוג: 19 נרצחו בחוף זיקים במתקפת הפתע". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2023-11-27.
^ "קומץ מפקדים הצילו בגופם 90 טירונים. סיפורו של הקרב ההירואי בזיקים". הארץ (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2023-10-28.
^ ""חוף זיקים בשבת בבוקר זה חור שחור. לא נוצרה מילה שתתאר את גודל המחדל" - וואלה! חדשות". וואלה! (in Hebrew). 2023-10-12. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
^ קוריאל, אילנה (2023-10-27). "אריה ובנו אלי נרצחו כשהלכו לדוג בחוף זיקים: "הבנו שצריך רק להמתין לבשורה המרה"". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2023-10-28.
^ "Contact". Polyron. Polyrit. Archived from the original on April 29, 2015. Retrieved April 18, 2019.