Nitzan
Community in southern Israel
title: "Nitzan" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["community-settlements", "religious-israeli-communities", "populated-places-in-southern-district-(israel)", "populated-places-established-in-1949", "1949-establishments-in-israel"] description: "Community in southern Israel" topic_path: "geography/israel" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitzan" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Community in southern Israel ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox Israel village"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| image | Nitzan5129.JPG |
| name | Nitzan |
| hebname | ניצן |
| arname | نيتسان |
| altOffSp | Nizzan |
| foundation | 1949 |
| district | south |
| council | Hof Ashkelon |
| population | |
| popyear | |
| population_footnotes | |
| pushpin_map | Israel ashkelon |
| coordinates | |
| :: |
|image = Nitzan5129.JPG | name = Nitzan |hebname=ניצן |arname=نيتسان | altOffSp = Nizzan | foundation = 1949 | founded_by = | district = south | council = Hof Ashkelon | affiliation = | population = | popyear = | population_footnotes = | pushpin_map=Israel ashkelon |pushpin_mapsize=250 |coordinates = | website =
Nitzan (, lit. Flower bud) is a religiously observant community settlement in southern Israel. Located within the Nitzanim Sand Dune Reserve north of Ashkelon, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof Ashkelon Regional Council. In it had a population of , including a large concentration of Bnei Menashe (10–20% of the population) from India and Myanmar regions bordering India.
History
Kibbutz Nitzanim
The first settlement on Nitzan's current grounds was the kibbutz of Nitzanim in 1943. The kibbutz was established after the Jewish National Fund purchased a 400 acre plot of land and a large house known as the "mansion" in 1942. The first residents were immigrants, some of whom were Holocaust survivors. It later absorbed more immigrants from Poland and Romania. The kibbutz was conquered by Egypt during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, but recaptured by Israel towards the end of the conflict. However, the kibbutz was re-established 3 km to the south.
Nitzanim youth village
The original site became a youth village. It operated as Nitzanim Youth Village in 1949–1990.
Nitzan
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Karavila_Nitsan.jpg" caption="A typical [[caravilla]] in Nitzan"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/New_Karavilas.jpg" caption="Caravillas in Nitzan, 2005"] ::
In 1990, the modern community settlement of Nitzan was established on the site of the youth village. By 1995 it had a population of 105. It experienced rapid expansion in the 2005 during the Israeli disengagement from Gaza after the town was selected to temporarily house a large group of families evacuated from Gush Katif, many of whom were Bnei Menashe immigrants. 500 temporary caravillas were constructed on the eastern end of Nitzan, which later became Nitzan Bet, and 250 more were ordered by the Israeli Government. These housing were meant to be temporary for two to three years, but many have lived in them for over a decade, leading to difficult living situations and the lack of social instability.
Several environmental organisations objected to the new construction, which increased Nitzan's area by four-and-a-half times. They feared damage to the fragile sand dune ecosystem. The neighbourhood was also the target of criticism by settlers and Israeli human-rights groups, citing a lack of adequate housing and facilities. They argued that governmental negligence resulted in a housing shortage, forcing large families to separate into multiple caravillas, and that basic infrastructure like a youth area, nursery, and synagogue were absent.
On 12 July 2012, the organization United With Israel delivered bomb shelters to the residents of Nitzan. It was a major event for the residents of Nitzan, whose children needed kindergarten bomb shelters. The event included children painting the shelters with murals, supervised by a professional mural artist.
References
References
- link. (4 October 2011)
- "Bnei Menashe: Lost tribe found, but still lost".
- "התנתקות: שכונת הקרווילות האחרונה". [[Keshet Media Group.
- Hasson, Nir. (1 August 2005). "First families move to Nitzan homes; others opt for tents". [[Haaretz]].
- Yuval Yoaz. (16 May 2005). "Nature Society asks Mazuz to halt Nitzan construction". [[Haaretz]].
- (16 July 2014). "Kindergarten Bomb Shelters in Nitzan". United with Israel.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::