Gezer (kibbutz)

The kibbutz was established in 1945 on land purchased by the Ancient Order of Maccabeans in England,Encyclopedia Judaica, Volume 7, Gezer, p. 536. a philanthropic society founded in 1896.[http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0013_0_12954.html Order of Ancient Maccabeans] Jewish Virtual Library The land previously belonged to the Palestinian village of al-Qubab.{{cite book|title=All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_By7AAAAIAAJ |first=W.|last=Khalidi|authorlink=Walid Khalidi|year=1992|page=407|location=Washington D.C.|publisher=Institute for Palestine Studies|isbn=0-88728-224-5}} The founders were Jewish immigrants from Europe, who named the kibbutz after the biblical city of Gezer ({{bibleverse|Joshua|21:21}}), identified at a tell (archaeological mound) located nearby.{{Cite book

| publisher = Mapa Publishing

| isbn = 965-7184-34-7

| pages = 108

|editor=Yuval Elʻazari

| title = Mapa's concise gazetteer of Israel

| location = Tel-Aviv

| year = 2005

|language=he}}

On 10 June 1948, the day after an attempt to take Latrun was performed by the Yiftach and Harel brigades during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, a battalion-size force of the Arab Legion, supported by irregulars and a dozen armoured cars, attacked the kibbutz, which was defended by 68 Haganah soldiers. After four hours of battle, the kibbutz fell, with 39 defenders killed, a dozen escapees, and the remaining taken prisoner. Two Arab legionnaires were killed. However, in the evening the kibbutz was abandoned to the irregulars and taken back by two Palmach squads.Benny Morris, 1948, (2008), pp. 229–230.

File:גזר - מראה כללי-JNF026177.jpeg

File:Gezer 1948.jpg

After the war it was rebuilt, but came apart in 1964 due to social difficulties. The current kibbutz was founded on 4 July 1974 by a gar'in from North America, which included peace activist Vivian Silver.

Kibbutz Gezer Field is one of the few regulation baseball fields in Israel. Construction of the field in 1983 took six weeks and was funded by American donors. The first game was played within a few months. A backstop, covered benches for players and a refreshment stand were added at a later date. In 1989, a scoreboard and outfield fence were erected for the Maccabiah Games.{{Cite news |last=Greenberg |first=Joel |date=1992-08-23 |title=OUT THERE: KIBBUTZ GEZER; King Solomon's Nines |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/23/style/out-there-kibbutz-gezer-king-solomon-s-nines.html |access-date=2023-10-09 |issn=0362-4331}}

Since 2014 a red hair event has been held at the Kibbutz for the local Israeli red hair community. The festival includes performances, group discussions surrounding breaking stigmas about gingers, and even helps red heads to find their ginger spouse.{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/08/israel-redhead-convention-ginger-children-kibbutz.html|title=Israel holds first conference for 'gingers'|date=29 August 2014|website=Al-monitor.com|accessdate=19 August 2017}} However, the number of attendees has to be restricted due to the risk of rocket attacks, leading to anger in the red-hair community.{{Cite news |title=Finally, a Red Alert This Summer That (Most) Israelis Welcomed |language=en |work=Haaretz |url=https://www.haaretz.com/2014-08-30/ty-article/.premium/finally-a-red-alert-that-israelis-welcomed/0000017f-e82e-dc7e-adff-f8af2c220000 |access-date=2023-10-09}}

• Aharon Almog, Israeli writer, poet and playwright. After discharging from the IDF he was among the ones who reestablished the kibbutz Gezer and many his stories and poems are dedicated to this place.Sagi Ben Nun, [https://e.walla.co.il/item/3434110 המשורר אהרן אלמוג הלך לעולמו בגיל 89], May 8, 2021
• Alon Leichman, Olympian, member of the Israel national baseball team, and assistant pitching coach for the Cincinnati Reds

• Gezer (biblical city) and the Sack of Gezer
• Gezer calendar – ancient artifact
• Israel Baseball League

{{reflist}}

• [https://www.gezer.org.il Official website]
• [https://haifa-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo-explore/collectionDiscovery?vid=HAU&inst=972HAI_MAIN&collectionId=81184485990002791&lang=en_US Kibbutz Gezer - Yehudit Shaked collection] Digital collections of Younes and Soraya Nazarian Library, University of Haifa

{{Gezer Regional Council}}

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Category:Kibbutzim

Category:Kibbutz Movement

Category:Populated places established in 1945

Category:Populated places in Central District (Israel)

Category:1945 establishments in Mandatory Palestine

Category:North American-Jewish culture in Israel

Category:Gezer