Zikim

Michael Harsgor, later an Israeli historian, came up with the name for a future kibbutz he wished to once join, while being imprisoned during the Second World War in Romania, an ally of Nazi Germany, for his activity in Hashomer Hatzair. He says he translated a quote from Pushkin into Hebrew: "From sparks shall come a flame."{{cite news |author= Lori, Aviva |title= Past Perfect |date= 19 November 2009 |newspaper=Haaretz |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1127759.html |access-date= 20 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091219102455/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1127759.html |archive-date= 2009-12-19}}

For settlement history preceding the kibbutz, see Hiribya: History. The Late Neolithic Ziqim archaeological site is associated with the Nizzanim culture.{{cite journal |last1=Garfinkel |first1=Yosef |last2=Dag |first2=Dorgan |title=Ziqim, a Pottery Neolithic site in the southern coastal plan of Israel: a final report |journal= Mitekufat Haeven - Journal of the Israel Prehistoric Society |year=2002 |volume=32 |pp=76-77 |jstor=23380267}} Ancient discoveries in Zikim comprise a Greek graffito on the base of a high-quality plate dating from 144-160 BCE, and Greek inscriptions on Gazan jars from the 6th to early 7th century CE.{{Citation |title=XIX. Ziqim |date=2014-07-14 |work=Volume 3 South Coast: 2161-2648 |pages=367–370 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110337679.367/html |access-date=2024-02-25 |publisher=De Gruyter |doi=10.1515/9783110337679.367 |isbn=978-3-11-033767-9}} Hiribya was known in the medieval Crusader period as La Forbie, site of the 1244 Battle of Forbie.

The kibbutz was established in 1949 on land that had belonged to the depopulated Palestinian village of Hiribya,{{cite book|title=All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_By7AAAAIAAJ|first1=Walid|last1=Khalidi|authorlink=Walid Khalidi|year=1992|location=Washington D.C.|publisher=Institute for Palestine Studies|isbn=0-88728-224-5|page=102}} by a group of young Jews from Romania, who belonged to Hashomer Hatzair before their arrival in Mandatory Palestine in 1947{{citation needed|date=May 2018}} - at a time when Romania was on the verge of becoming a Communist Bloc country. At that time, Jewish settlement in the Negev was very sparse, and each new location was considered to be a "point of light" (zik) in the wilderness.{{cn |date= March 2025}}

Zikim attracted members of Hashomer Hatzair from around the world, most recently from South America. British actor Bob Hoskins, although not Jewish, worked as a volunteer in Zikim in 1967.{{cite news |last=Yaakov |first=Yifa |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=The Times of Israel |date=May 1, 2014 |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/roger-rabbit-star-spent-6-months-on-kibbutz/ |title=Bob Hoskins, kibbutz volunteer |access-date=April 18, 2019}}

During the 1970s, the Shiqma Reservoir was established near the kibbutz. In the process, most of the Late Neolithic Ziqim site near the shore was bulldozed.

In 2006, Palestinian Islamic Jihad fired a Qassam rocket from northern Gaza that hit a mattress factory in Zikim.{{cite news |last=Katz |first=Yaakov |date=April 6, 2006 |title=Kassam hits factory in Kibbutz Zikim |url=https://www.jpost.com/Israel/Kassam-hits-factory-in-Kibbutz-Zikim |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |access-date=April 18, 2019}} In July 2014, five armed Palestinians attempted to cross into Israel via the beach at Kibbutz Zikim. They were killed by IDF gunfire.{{cite news |last=Lappin |first=Yaakov |date=July 8, 2014 |url=https://www.jpost.com/Defense/IDF-kills-2-terrorists-attempting-to-infiltrating-from-the-sea-361983 |title=WATCH: IDF kills 5 Hamas terrorists attempting to infiltrate from the sea |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |access-date=April 18, 2019}}

On 7 October 2023, as part of an attack on Israel, Hamas terrorists amphibiously assaulted the Zikim training base and Zikim kibbutz.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2023-10-09 |title=Videos show new details on how Hamas launched surprise assault on Israel |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/08/middleeast/hamas-videos-visual-timeline/index.html |access-date=2023-10-09 |website=CNN}} Hamas killed 19 civilians,{{Cite news |last=קוריאל |first=אילנה |date=2023-11-04 |title=אלינה בילתה עם חבריה, אריה ואלי יצאו לדוג: 19 נרצחו בחוף זיקים במתקפת הפתע |lang=he |work=Ynet |url=https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/sjrbo1eq6 |access-date=2023-11-27}} 8 soldiers and left dozens wounded on the beach.{{Cite news |title=קומץ מפקדים הצילו בגופם 90 טירונים. סיפורו של הקרב ההירואי בזיקים |lang=he |work=הארץ |url=https://www.haaretz.co.il/magazine/2023-10-19/ty-article-magazine/.highlight/0000018b-4555-d614-abcf-ed7772420000 |access-date=2023-10-28}}{{Cite web |date=2023-10-12 |title="חוף זיקים בשבת בבוקר זה חור שחור. לא נוצרה מילה שתתאר את גודל המחדל" - וואלה! חדשות |url=https://news.walla.co.il/item/3615799 |access-date=2023-10-28 |website=וואלה! |lang=he}}{{Cite news |last=קוריאל |first=אילנה |date=2023-10-27 |title=אריה ובנו אלי נרצחו כשהלכו לדוג בחוף זיקים: "הבנו שצריך רק להמתין לבשורה המרה" |lang=he |work=Ynet |url=https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/sk0j6fpmt |access-date=2023-10-28}} The remaining Hamas terrorists from the beach were killed while attempting to enter the kibbutz. An emergency security team made up of civilians there had been alerted to the infiltration by the navy, and preemptively positioned themselves along a fence surrounding the kibbutz.{{Cite web |url=https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/378083 |access-date=11 October 2023 |website=Arutz Sheva |title=Eyewitness account: 'Kobi and the squad saved the kibbutz' |date=8 October 2023 |archive-date=11 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231011160716/https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/378083 |url-status=live }} A squad of six Hamas terrorists arrived at the kibbutz driving the Israeli military vehicle that had been abandoned on the beach. A firefight quickly ensued, and the terrorists dispersed, eventually being tracked down and killed after about an hour of combat.{{Cite web |url=https://idsf.org.il/en/stories-of-valor/resulted-in-the-terrorists-elimination/ |title=The alertness of the kibbutz's first-response team resulted in the terrorists' elimination|website=idsf.org.il |date=7 October 2023 |access-date=2023-12-05 |archive-date=2023-12-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231205005907/https://idsf.org.il/en/stories-of-valor/resulted-in-the-terrorists-elimination/ |url-status=live }} The security team remained at their positions until 2:30 the next morning, assisting in the evacuation of civilians and awaiting IDF reinforcements that never arrived.

The main crops are mango and avocado. Zikim also operates one of Israel's largest dairy farms. The main industrial product is polyurethane, produced by the kibbutz factory, Polyrit.{{cite web |url=http://www.polyrit.com/CONTACT/ |title=Contact |website=Polyron |publisher=Polyrit |access-date=April 18, 2019 |archive-date=April 29, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429115734/http://www.polyrit.com/CONTACT/ |url-status=dead }}

• Peretz Kidron (1933–2011), Israeli writer, journalist and translator
• Hagai Zamir (born 1951), Israeli paralympic volleyball champion

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• [http://www.zikim.org.il Official website] {{in lang|he}}

{{Hof Ashkelon Regional Council}}

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Category:Kibbutzim

Category:Kibbutz Movement

Category:Gaza envelope

Category:Populated places in Southern District (Israel)

Category:Romanian-Jewish culture in Israel

Category:Populated places established in 1949

Category:1949 establishments in Israel