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Mefalsim מפלסים
MefalsimShow map of Northwest Negev region of IsraelMefalsimShow map of Israel
Coordinates: 31°30′7″N 34°33′52″E / 31.50194°N 34.56444°E / 31.50194; 34.56444
Country	Israel
District	Southern
Council	Sha'ar HaNegev
Affiliation	Kibbutz Movement
Founded	1949
Founded by	Argentine and Uruguayan Jews
Population	1,057
Website	www.mefalsim.co.il

Mefalsim (Template:Lang-he) is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located near the Gaza Strip and covering 11,000 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 1,057.

History

Mifalsim was established in 1949 by members of the Dror Habonim youth movement, most of them immigrants from Argentina and Uruguay. It was named "Mefalsim" to honor the immigrants from Latin America who paved (lefales) the way for others to make aliyah.

In 1966, the Argentine ambassador to Israel asked the kibbutz choir to perform Argentine folk music at the opening of the Argentine House in Jerusalem. This led to the establishment of Conjunto Mefalsim, a band that played Argentine and Latin American music, appearing on radio and television. The band also recorded several albums.

In 2005, after the Israeli disengagement from Gaza the kibbutz absorbed some of the evicted families. Since 2001 the kibbutz has been hit by dozens of rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, with a few buildings destroyed, including the kindergarten in 2012. In 2018 the village was the first location set ablaze by a fire balloon. In October 2023, Mefalsim was attacked by Hamas militants, who proceeded to kill several civilians in the village.

Economy

In 2017, Kibbutz Mefalsim had 430 acres of citrus and almond groves. Joining other farmers in the region, fruit farmers from Mefalsim called on Israeli defense minister Avigdor Lieberman to grant entry permits to hundreds of Gazans to work in their orchards. In 2022, the Shibolet Group acquired an area of 22 dunams of kibbutz land for the establishment of a logistics center for industrial companies.

Landmarks

An IDF memorial site, the Black Arrow Memorial is located on the outskirts of Kibbutz Mefalsim.

Archaeology

In 2017, a salvage excavation was conducted at Tel ʽIrit, southwest of Kibbutz Mefalsim, by the Israel Antiquities Authority. Tel ʽIrit is the site of a pottery workshop dated to the late Byzantine period (end of the sixth–beginning of seventh centuries CE).

References

1. ^ "Regional Statistics". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
2. ^ Mefalsim, Shaar Hanegev Negev Information Centre
3. Transnational Histories of Youth in the Twentieth Century
4. Relocation housing for Gush Katif evacuees Getty Images
5. Ser, Sam (August 17, 2005). "Evacuees Settle in at Kibbutz Mefalsim". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
6. Tzuri, Matan; Levi, Elior (May 7, 2018). נזקים כבדים בעוטף עזה בגלל בלוני תבערה [Heavy Damage in Otef Aza due to Incendiary Balloons]. Yedioth Ahronoth (in Hebrew). Retrieved April 18, 2019.
7. "One of the most beautiful parts of Israel before all hell broke loose", Haaretz
8. Militants had detailed maps of Israeli towns, military bases and infiltration routes
9. https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-767609
10. Israel fruit farmers eye Gaza to fix labour shortage
11. The Shibolet Group is to set up a logistics center at Kibbutz Mefalsim
12. "Black Arrow Memorial". Jewish National Fund. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
13. Tel ʽIrit

External links

• Kibbutz website (in Hebrew)
• Life in a war zone: A Latina’s experience living near the Israel-Gaza border

• Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council
• Argentine-Jewish culture in Israel
• Uruguayan diaspora in Israel
• Kibbutzim
• Kibbutz Movement
• Populated places established in 1949
• Gaza envelope
• Populated places in Southern District (Israel)
• South American-Jewish culture in Israel
• 1949 establishments in Israel