Urim
אוּרִים أوريم | |
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Coordinates: 31°18′15″N 34°31′25″E / 31.30417°N 34.52361°E | |
Country | Israel |
District | Southern |
Council | Eshkol |
Affiliation | Kibbutz Movement |
Founded | 6 October 1946 |
Founded by | Bulgarian Jews |
Population (2022)
[1] | 510 |
Urim ( Hebrew: אוּרִים, lit. Lights) is a kibbutz in the Negev desert in southern Israel. Located near the border of the Gaza Strip and about 30 kilometers west of Beersheba, [2] the kibbutz falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Council. In 2022, it had a population of 510. [1]
Kibbutz Urim was founded on 6 October 1946 as one of the 11 points in the Negev by a gar'in of young Jews from Bulgaria, [3] later joined by North American members of Habonim. [4] According to Walid Khalidi, Urim was established on land which had belonged to the Palestinian village of Al-Imara. Al-Imara became depopulated in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and Urim was established about 1 km south of the village site. [5]
Kibbutz Urim operated a blanket factory that was devastated by fire in the 1980s. [6] Today Noam Urim manufacturers needle-punched nonwoven fabrics. [7] Kibbutz Urim is a co-owner of Ora Field Crops, which is operates together with Kibbutz Kissufim also in the northwestern Negev. The cultivated area is about 27,000 dunam (almost 6,700 acres). Over two-thirds of the fields are irrigated from water sources supplied by water mains with hydraulic valves, communications and automation networks. Autumn crops include potatoes, carrots, radishes, wheat, barley and onions; spring crops include sunflowers, peanuts and corn. The summer crop is table grapes. [8]