Bitzaron

Bitzaron (Hebrew: בִּצָּרוֹן‎, lit. Stronghold) is a moshav in southern Israel. Located on local road 3811, between Gan Yavne and Bnei Ayish, it falls under the jurisdiction of Be'er Tuvia Regional Council. In 2019 its population was 1,258;[1] its area is around 5,000 dunams (5 km2).

Bitzaron

בִּצָּרוֹן‎
Entrance
Bitzaron
Bitzaron
Coordinates: 31°47′44.52″N 34°43′27.84″E
Country Israel
DistrictSouthern
CouncilBe'er Tuvia
AffiliationMoshavim Movement
Founded1935
Founded bySoviet refuseniks
Population
 (2019)[1]
1,258

History

Bitzaron was founded in 1935, on JNF lands, with the help of Keren Hayesod. In a book about Jewish villages in Palestine, the JNF says that the founders of Bitzaron organized themselves in 1929 before settling on the land as the Tel Hai group, and that in 1947 the population was 175.[2] A second wave of residents, including recently demobilized soldiers and their families arrived shortly after the 1947–1949 Palestine war. They were settled along a road, called Soldiers' Street, running west from the center of the moshav. A third wave of new residents, many of whom were new immigrants from Bulgaria, were settled along a road that runs east from the center.[3]

Its name was taken from the Book of Zechariah 9:12:[4] "Return to your stronghold, you prisoners of hope."

During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Bitzaron was on the front lines in the battle against the Egyptian army, and was bombarded by the Egyptian air force. The women and children of the village were evacuated to Rishon LeZion and Ness Ziona, while the men stayed to fight.

Economy
Flowers

Bitzaron's economy is based on agriculture and dairy farming. The moshav has numerous citrus groves.

It is also notable for its buffalo dairy, founded by Irit and Hagai Treister, which also serves as a tourist attraction and contains a number of ad hoc facilities.[5] The buffalo herd was imported from Italy in 1995.[6]

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References
  1. "Population in the Localities 2019" (XLS). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  2. Jewish National Fund (1949). Jewish Villages in Israel. Jerusalem: Hamadpis Liphshitz Press. p. 26.
  3. השראה מן העבר וצפייה אל העתיד
  4. HaReuveni, Immanuel (1999). Lexicon of the Land of Israel (in Hebrew). Miskal - Yedioth Ahronoth Books and Chemed Books. p. 155. ISBN 965-448-413-7. (in Hebrew)
    Carta's Official Guide to Israel and Complete Gazetteer to all Sites in the Holy Land. (3rd edition 1993) Jerusalem, Carta, p.123, ISBN 965-220-186-3 (Englisch)
    Place Names in Israel. A Compendium of Place Names in Israel compiled from various sources. Translated from Hebrew, Jerusalem 1962 (Israel Prime Minister’s Office. The Israeli Program for Scientific Translations) p.36 (Location of the book: Ben Zvi Institute Library, 12 Abarbanel St., Jerusalem; in the online-catalogue: "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-07-25. Retrieved 2013-07-29.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link))
  5. "Buffalo farm - Treister's farm - Moshav Bitzaron" (in Hebrew). 2008-01-29. Archived from the original on 2008-08-28. Retrieved 2008-05-01.
  6. "The Buffalo Farm - About Us" (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on 2008-04-18.
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