Our Story

The story of Shavei Darom

The story of captivity South begins in 1946, when established nuclear first settlement of Kfar Darom in the Gaza Strip and continues to this day, a regional council 'spaces' in the Negev, where building is currently the home to members of the community of Kfar Darom displaced in 2005 under the uprooting of Gush Katif called' Plan disengagement.

These days the community has renewed some 40 families displaced Kfar Darom, and a number of young families joined the settlement fauna. Settlement is the process of construction and development and held for more 160 families on land allocated by the state for the development of settlement in this region.

Kfar Darom: From the Original Settlement until Today

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  1946

  Kfar Darom was founded in 1946 on land that had been purchased by the orchard-owner Tuvia Miller in the 1930’s. Kfar Darom is named after the place of residence of the Tana Rabbi Elazar ben Yitzchak, who was named Ish Dfar Darom - a man from Kfar Darom, as mentioned in the Talmud Bavli.

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  1948

  When the War of Independence began, the settlement suffered severe attacks from Egyptian forces. The defenders of the yishuv, numbering about 60 people, succeeded in repelling these attacks which included airplane, artillery and infantry raids. The settlement’s residents suffered many losses and casualties, but couldn’t evacuate the wounded because of the tight siege imposed upon them by the Egyptians. In light of intelligence reports that Egyptian forces plan to conquer Kfar Darom, it was decided to evacuate the yishuv a night before the scheduled invasion, and indeed, the next day, Egyptian infantry encountered an empty settlement.

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  1967

  During the Six Day War, the IDF captured the Sinai peninsula and the Gaza Strip, which included Kfar Darom, wresting it from Egyptian control. With the blessing of Golda Meir, Israel’s Prime Minister at the time, a Bnei Akiva Nachal outpost was established at that location. However, this settlement did not last very long

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  1988

  Approximately two decades later, Kfar Darom was resettled. There a vibrant community developed with a booming agriculture, together with Torah enterprises, education, and chessed. During these years, the settlers were forced to contend with brutal terror attacks that took the lives of several community members and inflicted injury on men, women, and children.

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  2005

  In 2005, the Israeli government, headed by Ariel Sharon, decided to expel the Jewish settlers from the entire Gaza strip, and destroy all of their settlements. The residents of Kfar Darom, like all residents of Gush Katif, vehemently opposed this unilateral step and held intensive demonstrations demanding that this plan be rescinded. But despite their exerted efforts, the expulsion plan was implemented, the Jewish residents of the Gaza strip were expelled, and all their settlements, every single one, completely destroyed.

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  2010

  Following five years of temporary residence in Ashkelon, the permit was granted to establish a new development for the evictees from Kfar Darom, adjacent to Nir Akiva: Shavei Darom. The community members moved to temporary structures while construction began on their permanent homes, educational intuitions, and parks. With time, the community opened up to absorbing new families. Currently, the Shavei Darom community is at the height of rebuilding and growing.