Nirim
established
Regional Council
Population (Pre 7/10/2023)
Distance From The Gaza Border
Type Of Community
Economy
Kibbutz Nirim (Hebrew for “Plowed Fields“), was founded in 1946 by a small group of people from the “Nir” battalion of Hashomer Hatzair, who underwent agricultural training in Kibbutz Nir David, in Northern Israel.
The Battle of Nirim is a testimony to the bravery of the kibbutz founders. On the morning of May 15, 1948, a mere fourteen hours after the declaration of the establishment of the State of Israel, Egyptian forces invaded the sovereign territory of Israel, and attempted to occupy Kibbutz Nirim. At that time there were 42 people in Nirim (30 men and 12 women) with 14 guns, 4 Sten automatic rifles and one machine gun. The defenders were well-trained and conditioned, even by Palmach standards. That handful of defenders was attacked by an Egyptian infantry battalion of about a thousand fighters, a platoon of six armored personnel carriers, a platoon of 3 mortars (six barrels) and a platoon of heavy machine guns, and about twenty caterpillars carrying automatic weapons. The attackers were also assisted by an artillery battalion and tanks. The defenders drew their weapons, and when the attackers reached a distance of 150 meters they opened accurate fire. The Egyptian soldiers stopped when they noticed on the fences of the kibbutz signs written in English: “Caution! Mines!”
The Egyptians retreated, with 35 causalities, while the attack left seven members of Nirim dead and six wounded. The next day the Egyptians continued to shell the kibbutz but did not attack it. Nirim’s endurance in the campaign was considered a miracle, and in the Israeli press the assessment was that the failure of the attack on Nirim caused the Egyptians to refrain from trying to conquer the northern Negev, and instead advance directly on the road through Gaza towards Ashdod. Except for the security house, all the buildings of Nirim were destroyed. From the dining room, a single wall remained with a slogan on it, which was hung during the May Day celebrations and has since been a symbol for all fighters: “Not the tank will prevail, but the man”.
Until recent tragic events, the kibbutz had about 500 residents, who lived there and enjoyed a rich community life and a green and flourishing environment. In recent years, the kibbutz had been undergoing a process of changing lifestyles, and moving from a cooperative community to a community that maintains its social values of mutual caring and support in the ‘safety net’ model. The main goal of the change process: to encourage demographic growth through the addition of new members, with the aim of continuing to maintain a thriving multi-generational community. The kibbutz economy relies mostly on agriculture, growing avocados and various greenhouse produce; it’s also home to one of the largest organic farms in Israel.
KKL-JNF and Kibbutz Nirim
The Events of October 7, 2023
On the morning of October 7, 50 Hamas terrorists armed with assault rifles, grenades and RPGs attacked Kibbutz Nirim. The terrorists burned houses, shot people, and threw grenades. Five residents were murdered and four were abducted to Gaza. Daniel Meir, security chief, and three members of the civil defense team including the off-duty Police Superintendent Amit Levi, managed to engage the Hamas terrorists and thus saved many lives. “We were very lucky,” says Meir, “I left the house on Saturday morning with three members of the civil defense team and we tried to do something about these human scum that came in an insane amount.” Meir estimates that about 50 Hamas terrorists infiltrated the kibbutz and dozens more Gazans came to loot. “It was a little crazy to even try to stop them,” he says. “But we still did, and left the house feeling like we weren’t coming back.”
The civil defense team of the kibbutz has ten members, but only three of them who live on the eastern side of the kibbutz managed to get out of their homes to join Meir. The other members could not join the fighting because terrorists were already in their homes. “Somehow, miraculously, we surprised them and confused them a bit.” First, the small team of four went towards the kibbutz fence, where they encountered three terrorists, killing two of them while the third escaped. They then came under heavy fire and retreated towards the houses. Finding a high position, they engaged in combat as much as they could against over 20 terrorists who were heavily armed. Early on in the fighting a combat helicopter arrived “that came from heaven” says Daniel, bombing everything near the fence and outside it, but leaving the civil defense team to deal with all infiltrators. About 7 hours after the terrorists breached the kibbutz, the first IDF ground forces from the Maglan Commando Unit arrived. The army was shocked by the sights they discovered there, so Amit took command of the soldiers as well, and began managing them and the rescue.
Shai Levy, an Israeli news military reporter, was besieged with his family in safe room in Kibbutz Nirim for 7 hours and heard the terrorists going house after house, shooting, destroying, and burning. “Imagine the following scenario: you are in the safe room in your home, in your private fortress. But there are also three terrorists in the house with you. They are trying to open the door of the safe room, which cannot be locked from the inside, and you are fighting with them on the handle so that they do not come in and slaughter you. On the floor under the bed your children lie in silence, in the dark. It’s also hard to write about, but I understand that testimony is important. I want you to read what happened to us, one family in the Western Negev under a brutal terrorist attack that ignited the war against Gaza.” About a week after these events, the IDF killed Bilal al-Kadra in the Gaza Strip, the commander of the Nakhaba force, who was responsible for the murderous raid on Nir Oz and Nirim.
On the kibbutz webpage, the people of Nirim have this courageous message for the world: “The community is still strong, functioning and bracing ourselves for a long rehabilitation in many aspects: from the restoration of buildings and infrastructure through personal, community, economic restoration and more. At the moment the kibbutz has been declared a closed military zone, and our members are at the King Solomon Hotel in Eilat, and with families and friends throughout the country. Our expected return home is unknown. At the same time, we are determined to return home and return the state of our kibbutz to the warm, vibrant home in a blooming desert garden that it was until that fateful Saturday.”
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/נירים
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/הטבח_בנירים
https://www.homee.co.il/נירים/
https://www.sherut-kibbutz.com/voluntary/נירים/
https://news.walla.co.il/item/3616583
https://www.mako.co.il/pzm-weekend/Article-30f1b2c40c32b81026.htm
https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/rydpta0e6
