{"id":184,"date":"2024-01-21T07:58:49","date_gmt":"2024-01-21T07:58:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/git.quatro.digital\/clients\/kkl\/?post_type=community&#038;p=184"},"modified":"2024-02-11T10:18:48","modified_gmt":"2024-02-11T10:18:48","slug":"kibbutz-zikim","status":"publish","type":"community","link":"https:\/\/donate.kkl-jnf.org\/westernnegevtribute\/?community=kibbutz-zikim","title":{"rendered":"Zikim"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Kibbutz<\/strong> Zikim was established in 1949 on land that had belonged to the depopulated Palestinian village of Hiribya by a group of young Romanian Jews who belonged to <strong>Hashomer Hatzair<\/strong>, the labor Zionist secular Jewish youth movement, before their arrival in Mandatory Palestine in 1947. \u00a0Kibbutz Zikim attracted members of Hashomer Hatzair from around the world.\u00a0 The kibbutz was founded with the aim of strengthening the grip of the state of Israel on the border line with Egypt and the Gaza Strip.\u00a0 Jewish settlement in the Negev was rare at that time, and each new location was considered to be a &#8220;point of light&#8221; (<em>zik<\/em>) in the wilderness.\u00a0 Michael Harsegor, who later became an Israeli historian, came up with the name of the Kibbutz while imprisoned in Romania for Hashomer Hatzair activity.\u00a0 He translated a quote from Alexander Pushkin into Hebrew: &#8220;From sparks shall come a flame.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>There is a building at the kibbutz called, \u201cAlami House,\u201d which was built 100 years ago by the Alami family, a rich and influential Arab family from Jerusalem who used the house as a vacation home.\u00a0 This house is still called \u201cthe Arab house\u201d by kibbutz members.\u00a0 One kibbutz member said that the fact that the Alami family\u2019s link to the house is still recognized through its name provides hope for the future.\u00a0 \u201cI believe that this house will serve as a possible meeting place between Palestinians and Israelis, not only due to its perfect location, halfway between Ashkelon and Gaza, but due to its past and the past of those who built it.\u00a0 The name is a declaration indicating that we\u2019re not hiding from that past. We recognize history and clearly state \u2013 this is our place. \u00a0It belongs to us now, but we remember what was here in the past and respect it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kibbutz Zikim is a strong and cohesive community with a deep commitment to education.\u00a0 Recently, the kibbutz defined demographic growth as the main goal to be addressed in the coming years.\u00a0 Accordingly, the kibbutz is making a major effort to absorb young families from all over the country.\u00a0 Further, a community extension, &#8220;Nof Yam&#8221; is being established in Zikim.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kibbutz Zikim was established in 1949 on land that had belonged to the depopulated Palestinian village of Hiribya by a group of young Romanian Jews who belonged to Hashomer Hatzair, the labor Zionist secular Jewish youth movement, before their arrival in Mandatory Palestine in 1947. \u00a0Kibbutz Zikim attracted members of Hashomer Hatzair from around the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/donate.kkl-jnf.org\/westernnegevtribute\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/community\/184"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/donate.kkl-jnf.org\/westernnegevtribute\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/community"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/donate.kkl-jnf.org\/westernnegevtribute\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/community"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/donate.kkl-jnf.org\/westernnegevtribute\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}