Nir Am

Nir Am
ניר עם‬
Nir Am in 1950
Nir Am
Coordinates: 31°31′9.84″N 34°34′51.23″E / 31.5194000°N 34.5808972°E / 31.5194000; 34.5808972Coordinates: 31°31′9.84″N 34°34′51.23″E / 31.5194000°N 34.5808972°E / 31.5194000; 34.5808972
District Southern
Council Sha'ar HaNegev
Affiliation Kibbutz Movement
Founded 19 August 1943
Founded by Bessarabian Gordonia members
Area 20,000 dunams (20 km2 or 8 sq mi)
Population (2017)[1] 553
 • Density 28/km2 (72/sq mi)
Name meaning Nation Meadow
Website www.nir-am.org.il

Nir Am (Hebrew: נִירְעָם, ניר עם‬, lit. Nation Meadow) is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located near Sderot and covering 20,000 dunams, it fall under the jurisdiction of Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. In 2017 it had a population of 553.[1]

History

The village was established on 19 August 1943 by immigrants from Bessarabia who were members of the Gordonia youth movement, including Zvi Guershoni, later a member of the Knesset. Over the years the kibbutz has also absorbed immigrants from Argentina, France and South Africa. During the 1948 war it was the headquarters of the Negev Brigade.[2] In a report written in March 1948 by Yaakov Riftin investigating abuses in Haganah and Palmach units, it emerged that an Arab was seized, abused and tortured, pliers being used on his genitals, and then had his head bashed against the wall at Nir Am. He was then shot dead while lying in a pit, and his body then covered over with soil. [3]

References

  1. 1 2 "List of localities, in Alphabetical order" (PDF). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  2. ↑ http://info.palmach.org.il/show_item.asp?levelId=38530&itemId=6347&itemType=0&obj=145860&picI=8
  3. ↑ Ofer Aderet, 'Why Is Israel Still Covering Up Extrajudicial Executions Committed by a Jewish Militia in '48?,' Haaretz 7 July 2018.
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