11 points in the Negev

History

A plan to establish eleven "points" of Jewish settlement in the Negev was devised to assure a Jewish presence in the area prior to the partition of Palestine. That followed the publication of the Morrison-Grady Plan, a partition proposal in which the Negev was to be part of an Arab state.

Together, the Jewish National Fund, the Jewish Agency, the Haganah and the Mekorot water company launched a drive to settle the Negev and hopefully to have the Negev included as part of a Jewish state. Chief engineer of the Mekorot Simcha Blass, who later became known as the inventor of the drip irrigation system, designed a water pipeline to the northern Negev.

On the night of October 5–6, 1946, after the Yom Kippur fast, the settlers, including members of Kibbutz Ruhama and Gvulot, set up camp at eleven pre-determined locations in the Negev. The eleven settlements were (in alphabetic order):

• Be'eri
• Gal On
• Hatzerim
• Kedma
• Kfar Darom
• Mishmar HaNegev
• Nevatim
• Nirim
• Shoval
• Tkuma
• Urim

Legacy and commemoration

Today a museum celebrating the eleven points is located in Revivim. In 1996 Israel Post released a stamp celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of their settlement.

References

References

1. [http://www.alynride.org/?CategoryID=231&ArticleID=328 On Road 2008, Day 2] International Bike Ride for the Children of ALYN hospital
2. {{usurped
3. link. (2005-01-10 Bnei Shimon Regional Council)
4. [https://web.archive.org/web/20061104092708/http://www.kkl.org.il/site_links/english.ics Outposts in the Negev] Jewish National Fund
5. [http://www.goisrael.com/Tourism_Eng/Tourist+Information/Suggested+Itineraries/Itineraries/Settlement+and+Agriculture+in+the+Northern+Negev.htm Follow Settlement and Agriculture in the Northern Negev] {{Webarchive. link. (2011-09-28 Cycling in Israel)