Kissufim

{{Infobox Kibbutz

| name = Kissufim

| image= Kissufim.jpg

| caption = Map of Kissufim on a sign in the kibbutz.

| imgsize = 250

| hebname = {{Script/Hebrew|כִּסּוּפִים}}

|arname=كيسوفيم

| meaning = Yearning

| foundation = 1951

| founded_by = American and South American Zionist youth movement members

| country = {{ISR}}

| district = south

| council = Eshkol

| affiliation = Kibbutz Movement

| popyear = {{Israel populations|Year}}

| population = {{Israel populations|Kissufim}}

| population_footnotes={{Israel populations|reference}}

| pushpin_map=Israel northwest negev#Israel

| pushpin_mapsize = 250

| pushpin_label_position= right

| coordinates = {{coord|31|22|27|N|34|23|58|E|display=inline,title}}

| website = {{url|www.kissufim.org.il}}

}}

Kissufim ({{langx|he|כִּסּוּפִים|lit=Yearning}}) is a kibbutz in the northwestern Negev desert in Israel. Located adjacent to the Gaza Strip at an altitude of 92 meters above sea level, it falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Council. In {{Israel populations|Year}} it had a population of {{Israel populations|Kissufim}}.{{Israel populations|reference}}

History

The village was established in 1951 by Zionist youth movement members from the United States and South America. One of the founders of the kibbutz was Ami Saull, who was born in Manhattan 1932 (nephew of Israel Galili and father of filmmaker Dror Shaul). Kissufim is part of the Shalom bloc of Israeli settlement meant to secure Israel's southern border with the Gaza Strip from the numerous Palestinian Fedayeen infiltrations.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}} The government financed reinforced concrete rooms for each home which serve as bomb shelters.{{cite web |title=The safest room in the house |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/the-safest-room-in-the-house/ |author=Jessica Steinberg |website=The Times of Israel |date=2012-11-28 |access-date=2025-04-06}}

In 1999, Dror Shaul, who was born and raised on Kissufim, filmed a satirical comedy, Operation Grandma, based on life in the kibbutz.{{Cite web |last= |date=2007-01-23 |title=PARK CITY ’07 INTERVIEW {{!}} Dror Shaul: “The biggest challenge was making a film about a subject so c |url=https://www.indiewire.com/news/general-news/park-city-07-interview-dror-shaul-the-biggest-challenge-was-making-a-film-about-a-subject-so-c-75313/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231016184332/https://www.indiewire.com/news/general-news/park-city-07-interview-dror-shaul-the-biggest-challenge-was-making-a-film-about-a-subject-so-c-75313/ |archive-date=2023-10-16 |access-date=2025-03-04 |website=IndieWire |language=en-US}} In 2023 Keren Nechmad released her film [http://Kissufim%20(film) Kissufim] (invalid URL), shot on location, and which won awards at several film festivals.

Through the Kissufim gate, humanitarian aid is transferred to the Gaza Strip by Israel and other entities.{{cite web |title=Nov. 12: At UNSC, US envoy warns Israel not to forcibly displace or starve Gazans |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-november-12-2024/ |website=The Times of Israel |date=2024-11-12 |access-date=2025-04-06}}{{cite web |title=Israeli tech firm to help build lunar internet for NASA |url=https://www.ynetnews.com/article/h14xbj11myg |website=Ynetnews |date=2024-12-20 |access-date=2025-04-06}}

Hamas has attacked Kissufim with rocket attacks several times in the 2010s and 2020s.{{cite web |title=Iron Dome intercepts rocket fired at Israel from Gaza, no injuries |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/rocket-warning-sirens-sound-along-gaza-border/ |author=ToI Staff and Judah Ari Gross |website=The Times of Israel |date=2018-06-02 |access-date=2025-04-06}}

= 2023 Hamas attack =

On 7 October 2023, Hamas launched an attack on Kissufim during a large-scale Hamas-led attack on southern Israel.{{Cite web |last=Gritten |first=David |date=2025-02-11 |title=Elderly Gaza hostage was killed in 7 October attack, Israel says |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c77rg752nj7o |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250211134831/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c77rg752nj7o |archive-date=2025-02-11 |access-date=2025-03-04 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}} Hamas militants perpetrated a massacre in Kissufim during the attack, murdering 9 residents and 6 foreign workers including hostage Shlomo Mansour, and abducting several other residents.{{Cite news |date=11 February 2025 |title=85-year-old Israeli Hostage Shlomo Mantzur Killed on October 7, Body Held in Gaza|url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-02-11/ty-article/.premium/85-year-old-israeli-hostage-shlomo-mantzur-killed-on-october-7-body-held-in-gaza/00000194-f4ab-d542-ad9e-f4fffb110000|access-date=11 February 2025 |work=Haaretz}}{{Cite news |last=Tzuri |first=Matan |date=2023-10-12 |title=Horrors unraveling: Hamas terrorists cold-bloodedly execute 90-year-old Israeli woman |url=https://www.ynetnews.com/article/h1qk7wb11p |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231015000553/https://www.ynetnews.com/article/h1qk7wb11p |archive-date=2023-10-15 |access-date=2025-03-04 |work=Ynetnews |language=en}} Kissufim has since been depopulated, with the residents living in temporary housing in Omer.{{Cite news |last=Tzur |first=Matan |last2=Curiel |first2=Ilana |date=2024-01-14 |title=חברי קיבוץ כיסופים החליטו: יעברו למגורים זמניים ביישוב עומר |trans-title=Members of Kibbutz Kissufim decided: They will move to temporary residence in the settlement of Omer |url=https://www.ynet.co.il/economy/article/h1sb1ubya |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231015000553/https://www.ynetnews.com/article/h1qk7wb11p |archive-date=2023-10-15 |access-date=2025-03-04 |work=Ynet |language=he}}

Economy

The kibbutz economy relies on dairy farming, poultry farming, citrus groves and an avocado orchard which constitutes one of the kibbutz's primary sources of income. Kissufim had a factory that produced plastic frames for eyeglasses.[https://www.ishitech.co.il/0819.pdf Israel High-tech and investment report] The Kissufim dairy has 380 cows with an average milk production of 12,800 liters.{{Cite web |last=McCullough |first=Chris |date=2023-10-13 |title=Israeli dairy farmers slaughtered by Hamas as they milked their cows |url=https://www.tsln.com/news/israeli-dairy-farmers-slaughtered-by-hamas-as-they-milked-their-cows/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231013203511/https://www.tsln.com/news/israeli-dairy-farmers-slaughtered-by-hamas-as-they-milked-their-cows/ |archive-date=2023-10-13 |access-date=2025-03-04 |website=Tri-State Livestock News |language=en-US}}

Archaeology

Tell Jemmeh is a major archaeological site located about 5 kilometers east-northeast of Kissufim, on the southern bank of HaBesor Stream. In June 1977, a tractor-driver preparing a new field discovered mosaics believed to be part of the floor of a mid-sixth century Byzantine church. According to archaeologists it was built on the plan of an early Christian Basilica during the reign of Constantine in 313 C.E.{{Cite web |last=Cohen |first=Rudolph |title=The Marvelous Mosaics of Kissufim |url=https://library.biblicalarchaeology.org/article/the-marvelous-mosaics-of-kissufim/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231016184330/https://library.biblicalarchaeology.org/article/the-marvelous-mosaics-of-kissufim/ |archive-date=2023-10-16 |access-date=2025-03-04 |website=Biblical Archaeology Society Library |language=en-US}}

Kibbutz Kissufim houses an archaeology museum showcasing artifacts discovered the area.

In 1961, a stone fragment bearing a Hebrew inscription was discovered near Kissufim. The inscription mentions the priestly course of Petaḥia. It is believed to date back to the 5th or 6th century CE.{{Citation |title=XXXVI. Kissufim |date=2014-07-14 |work=Volume 3 South Coast: 2161-2648 |pages=541–554 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110337679.541/html |access-date=2024-02-25 |publisher=De Gruyter |language=en |doi=10.1515/9783110337679.541 |isbn=978-3-11-033767-9}}

Kissufim crossing

The nearby crossing into the Gaza Strip, named for the kibbutz, was the main route for traffic into the Gush Katif Israeli settlement bloc. It was permanently closed to inbound Israeli civilian traffic on 15 August 2005 as part of the disengagement plan. The last Israeli soldier left the Gaza Strip and closed the gate at dawn of 12 September 2005, completing the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.{{Cite news |date=2005-09-12 |title=Israel completes Gaza withdrawal |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4235768.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050915131932/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4235768.stm |archive-date=2005-09-15 |access-date= |language=en-GB}}

Israel reopened the crossing on 12 November 2024 in response to US demands to open another crossing into the Gaza Strip. The demands were intended to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.{{Cite web |date=2024-11-08 |title=Israel says it will re-open crossing into Gaza as pressure builds to get more aid in |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-says-re-open-crossing-into-gaza-pressure-builds-get-more-aid-2024-11-08/ |url-status=live |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=2024-11-13 |work=Reuters}}{{Cite web |date=2024-11-12 |title=Israel opens Gaza aid crossing, ahead of US deadline |url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/israel-opens-gaza-aid-crossing-ahead-us-deadline-4743501 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241112115724/https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/israel-opens-gaza-aid-crossing-ahead-us-deadline-4743501 |archive-date=2024-11-12 |access-date=2024-11-13 |website=Channel NewsAsia |agency=Agence France-Presse}}

Notable people

Avihu Medina, composer, arranger, songwriter and singer
Dror Shaul, filmmaker

References

External links

[http://www.kissufim.org.il/ Official website] {{in lang|he}}
[https://web.archive.org/web/20160126162156/http://eng.negev-net.org.il/HTMLs/article.aspx?C2004=12735 Kissufim] Negev Information Centre
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5moqVlcrDY 15-minute movie on Kissufim in the 1950s] Steven Spielberg Jewish Film Archive
[http://dandush.net/bohabayta/meshakim/Kisufim/default_eng.asp Kissufim] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723073611/http://dandush.net/bohabayta/meshakim/Kisufim/default_eng.asp |date=2011-07-23 }} Bo HaBayta article

=Archaeology links=

{{cite journal |last= Cohen |first= Rudolph |title= The Marvelous Mosaics of Kissufim |journal= Biblical Archaeology Review |date= January–February 1980 |access-date= 2019-10-04 |url= https://www.baslibrary.org/biblical-archaeology-review/6/1/4}}
{{cite work |last= Cohen |first= Rudolph |title= Ancient Churches Revealed |chapter= A Byzantine church and its mosaic floors at Kissufim |editor-last= Tsafrir |editor-first= Yoram |editor-link= Yoram Tsafrir |date= 1993-06-01 |publisher= Israel Exploration Society |location= Jerusalem |pages= 277–282 |isbn= 9789652210166 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=3mltAAAAMAAJ&q=Kissufim}}
{{cite journal |last1= Ronen |first1= Avraham |last2= Gilead |first2= D. |last3= Shachnai |first3= E. |last4= Saull |first4= Ami |title= Upper Acheulean in the Kissufim Region |date= 1972-02-15 |pages= 68–96 |volume= 116 |number= 1 |journal= Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society |jstor= 985707 }} Regarding Early Paleolithic flint tools of Acheulean technology in the Kissufim museum.