Ruhama
Encyclopedia
Ruhama is a kibbutz
in the Negev
desert in southern Israel
. The original settlement established in 1911, is considered the first modern Jewish settlement in the Negev.
Located around ten kilometres east of Sderot
and surrounded by a nature reserve, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council
. In 2006 it had a population of 399.
n Jews in Moscow
, under the leadership of Simon Velikovsky, the father of Immanuel Velikovsky
, to invest money in Jewish agricultural settlements in the Land of Israel
. It took its name from the Book of Joshua
and the Hebrew word root 'rachmanut', meaning "compassion". "An artesian well was dug in 1912, and a rather plentiful supply of water was found at a depth of fifty meters." The group also included members of the socialist Zionist
movement Hashomer Hatzair
. However, the initial settlers were expelled by the Ottoman Empire
in 1917; a dilapidated museum building is all that is left of that original settlement. However, the artesian well prompted the Allied forces under General Allenby to select Ruhama as their headquarters from which base "the British Army and the Jewish-American Legion conquered Palestine".
HaShomer used the Ruhama farm as its main forward base along the Gaza-Beersheva line.
Two subsequent attempts to re-establish the settlement during the period of the British Mandate were curtailed by the Arab riots in 1929
and 1936. The kibbutz was eventually successfully re-established in 1944, and grew to a population of 399.
In 2005, the Film "Sweet Mud
" was filmed in Ruhama and Nir Eliyahu
.
In 2006, a group of the older, diehard communist ideologues blocked an attempt by the younger, more liberal members of Ruhama to establish a synagogue
.
Like many kibbutz
im, Ruhama went through a process of privatization in the late 1990s.
The kibbutz
operates a factory which produces brushes, including toothbrushes, which are exported. In 1984, Ruhama established a PCB design company.
Ruhama has a full-care center for elderly patients, with about 25 beds, attending to patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, dementia, paralysis and stroke. With membership dropping from 350 members to 210, upkeep of the senior care center has meant self-taxation and general belt tightening on the kibbutz.
A symbol of how greatly times have changed, the kibbutz cut community services like the dining room, so that every family now cares for itself.
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
in the Negev
Negev
The Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The Arabs, including the native Bedouin population of the region, refer to the desert as al-Naqab. The origin of the word Neghebh is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...
desert in southern Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. The original settlement established in 1911, is considered the first modern Jewish settlement in the Negev.
Located around ten kilometres east of Sderot
Sderot
Sderot is a western Negev city in the Southern District of Israel. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics , at the end of 2009 the city had a total population of 20,700. The city has been an ongoing target of Qassam rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip...
and surrounded by a nature reserve, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council
Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council
The Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council , is a regional council in the north-western Negev, in Israel's Southern District. The Regional Council's territory lies midway between Beersheba and Ashkelon, bounded on the west by the Gaza Strip. The eastern border abuts Bnei Shimon...
. In 2006 it had a population of 399.
History
Ruhama was first established in 1911, on land purchased in the same year by the "Remnant of Israel" company, set up by RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Jews in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, under the leadership of Simon Velikovsky, the father of Immanuel Velikovsky
Immanuel Velikovsky
Immanuel Velikovsky was a Russian-born American independent scholar of Jewish origins, best known as the author of a number of controversial books reinterpreting the events of ancient history, in particular the US bestseller Worlds in Collision, published in 1950...
, to invest money in Jewish agricultural settlements in the Land of Israel
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
. It took its name from the Book of Joshua
Book of Joshua
The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament. Its 24 chapters tell of the entry of the Israelites into Canaan, their conquest and division of the land under the leadership of Joshua, and of serving God in the land....
and the Hebrew word root 'rachmanut', meaning "compassion". "An artesian well was dug in 1912, and a rather plentiful supply of water was found at a depth of fifty meters." The group also included members of the socialist Zionist
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
movement Hashomer Hatzair
Hashomer Hatzair
Hashomer Hatzair is a Socialist–Zionist youth movement founded in 1913 in Galicia, Austria-Hungary, and was also the name of the group's political party in the Yishuv in the pre-1948 British Mandate of Palestine...
. However, the initial settlers were expelled by the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
in 1917; a dilapidated museum building is all that is left of that original settlement. However, the artesian well prompted the Allied forces under General Allenby to select Ruhama as their headquarters from which base "the British Army and the Jewish-American Legion conquered Palestine".
HaShomer used the Ruhama farm as its main forward base along the Gaza-Beersheva line.
Two subsequent attempts to re-establish the settlement during the period of the British Mandate were curtailed by the Arab riots in 1929
1929 Palestine riots
The 1929 Palestine riots, also known as the Western Wall Uprising, the 1929 Massacres, , or the Buraq Uprising , refers to a series of demonstrations and riots in late August 1929 when a long-running dispute between Muslims and Jews over access to the Western Wall in Jerusalem escalated into violence...
and 1936. The kibbutz was eventually successfully re-established in 1944, and grew to a population of 399.
In 2005, the Film "Sweet Mud
Sweet Mud
Adama Meshuga'at or Sweet Mud in English is a 2006 Israeli satirical drama film written and directed by Dror Shaul.- Synopsis :Set in 1974, Dvir is soon to turn 13 and lives with his mom Miri at a progressive kibbutz populated by people who take pride in their open-minded attitudes...
" was filmed in Ruhama and Nir Eliyahu
Nir Eliyahu
Nir Eliyahu is a kibbutz in the Sharon plain region of Israel. Located northwest of Kfar Sava, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Drom HaSharon Regional Council.- History :...
.
In 2006, a group of the older, diehard communist ideologues blocked an attempt by the younger, more liberal members of Ruhama to establish a synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
.
Economy
The economy is based on four agricultural branches: field crops, irrigated cultivation, orchards and henhouses, but agricultural crops do not generate enough income to support the kibbutz, so to earn a living, many of Ruhama's members have taken jobs outside the kibbutz.Like many kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
im, Ruhama went through a process of privatization in the late 1990s.
The kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
operates a factory which produces brushes, including toothbrushes, which are exported. In 1984, Ruhama established a PCB design company.
Ruhama has a full-care center for elderly patients, with about 25 beds, attending to patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, dementia, paralysis and stroke. With membership dropping from 350 members to 210, upkeep of the senior care center has meant self-taxation and general belt tightening on the kibbutz.
A symbol of how greatly times have changed, the kibbutz cut community services like the dining room, so that every family now cares for itself.
Attractions
Atar Ha-Rishonim, or The Negev Pioneers, just outside the fence surrounding the kibbutz, is where the first Jewish settlers in modern times settled in the Negev. The site includes several buildings and a well, as well as farming tools used almost 100 years ago.Prominent Residents
- Recha Frier, a deputy to Zionist leader Henrietta SzoldHenrietta SzoldHenrietta Szold was a U.S. Jewish Zionist leader and founder of the Hadassah Women's Organization. In 1942, she co-founded Ihud, a political party in Mandate Palestine dedicated to a binational solution.-Biography:...
, first lived on a kibbutzKibbutzA kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
near the Lebanese border, but moved to Ruhama in 1947.
External links
- Ruhama Negev Information Centre
- Kibbutz Ruhama site by Kenny Sahr, with pictures of the kibbutz
- Ruhama Balloon Festival 2010 360 Panorama