kibbutz urim

kibbutz urim is situated about 30 km west of Beer-Shava. The first Gar'in (core group) was formed in 1944, by uniting a group from Bulgaria, which came to Israel in 1941, with a group of Israeli youngsters. The joined group called itself "Lanir". The gar'in belonged to the youth movement "Macabi Gordonia". They were trained on kibbutz Ganigar, and were joined by a small group from kibbutz Matzuba, and another gar'in which studied in "Ahava" (love) institute. Later they were joined by another two gar'inim : from kibbutz Geva, and kibbutz Kfar Hamacabi.

I translated the above from a book about Kibbutzes, but never finished it... Years later, Yonina Lamdan e-mailed me about it, and added "The Americans".

Here it is, in her own words.

You seem to have missed an important part of the population of Urim........the Americans from Habonim Labor Zionist Youth Movement from the USA and Canada! The first of the group of "Garin Beth" came from the USA and Canada in the beginning of 1950! On January 1, 1950 Matz Lamdan (formerly aka Marvin Lerner) and Zvi Miller arrived in Haifa Port. In March, the major part of the first group of halutzim came to Israel and went directly to Kvutzat Geva in the Izraeli Valley to receive their training "hachshara" in Kibbutz living. They lived and worked and studied Hebrew in that Kibbutz, until their army (Nachal) induction.......and the move to the kibbutz in the Negev......Urim......where they supplemented the small population of Bulgarian immigrants who came as Youth Aliya. That group took part in the 11 Settlements that went up in the Negev on Yom Kippur night, October 6, 1946. They were the basis for the boundaries of the new State of Israel declared on May 15, 1948........and the Map of the new State included the Negev.

Americans joined Bulgarians and were followed by Nachal groups in the following years, making up the Kibbutz Urim in the Northwest Negev, today part of the Hevel Habesor Area. The ongoing joke was that Urim was settled by Bulgarian brains, American money and Israeli Hebrew Labor. Joke, indeed........many of all groups still form the basis of the kibbutz which has grown and developed in Agriculture, Industry and Art and Culture in the Blossoming of the Desert. Many new developments take place in Urim as well as the whole kibbutz movement. Worth visiting the Kibbutz to see what has taken place in the past almost 60 years!

kibbutz urim

links to kibbutz Urim related sites