Kissufim

Infobox_Kibbutz
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pushpin_mapsize=
latd=31 |latm=22 |lats=27 |latNS=N
longd=34 |longm=23 |longs=58 |longEW=E


caption= Map of Kissufim on a sign in the kibbutz.
imgsize= 250
hebname=Hebrew|כיסופים
meaning=Yearning
kibbutz_name = Kissufim
foundation = 1951
founded_by = American and South American immigrants
region = Northwestern Negev
industry = Agriculture
district=south
council=Eshkol
affiliation = Kibbutz Movement
website = [http://www.kissufim.org.il/ www.kissufim.org.il]

Kissufim ( _he. כיסופים, lit. "Yearning") is a kibbutz in the northwestern Negev desert in Israel. Located adjacent to the Gaza Strip, it falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Council. It sits at an altitude of 92 metres above sea level.

History

The village was established in 1951 by Zionist youth movement members from the United States and South America. It 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.

Economy

As of 2005 its population consists of about 220 people, 90 of them members. Its economy largely relies on its milk production, chicken farming, a citrus grove and avocado orchard, and renting out land to the Israel Defense Forces. At one point it had a factory that produced plastic frames for glasses. The village also houses an archaeological museum displaying artefacts found in the surrounding area.

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. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4235768.stm Israel completes Gaza withdrawal] BBC News, 12 September 2006]

Notable residents

*Dror Shaul, a filmmaker

References

External links

* [http://www.kissufim.org.il/ Official website] he icon
* [http://eng.negev-net.org.il/HTMLs/article.aspx?C2004=12735 Kissufim] Negev Information Centre
* [http://w3.castup.net/JFA/FilmsScreen.asp?NFilm=format%3Dwm%26s%3D5411193C99864B0F81E7A3227B38127F%26ci%3D17470%26ak%3Dnull%26ClipMediaID%3D23292 15 minute movie on Kissufim in the 1950s] Steven Spielberg Jewish Film Archive