Ein Gedi, Israel

Infobox_Kibbutz
kibbutz_name = Ein Gedi
foundation = 1956
founded_by = Zionist youth movements, Nahal
region = Judea
industry = Agriculture, bottled spring water, tourism
affiliation = Kibbutz Movement
website = [http://www.eingedi.co.il/ www.eingedi.co.il]

Ein Gedi ( _he. עֵין גֶּדִי, lit. "Kid Spring") is a kibbutz on the western shore of the Dead Sea in Israel. Located on the edge of the Judean desert at the site of historic Ein Gedi, its municipal services are provided by Tamar Regional Council.

History

Founded in 1956 by a group of graduates of Zionist youth movements and members of the Nahal on the edge of the Green Line separating Israel from the Jordanian-held West Bank, the kibbutz was completely isolated in the desert, the nearest Israeli village several hours away via dirt road.

After the 1967 Six-Day War and Israel's capture of the West Bank from Jordan, a road was paved from Jerusalem via Jericho and along the shore of the Dead Sea, ending the isolation and opening the door to the Kibbutz's development. Today Kibbutz Ein Gedi is home to 650, 240 of which are kibbutz members.

Economic pursuits

The kibbutz is primarily involved with agriculture and tourism of the surrounding area and neighbouring antiquities. In 1997 the kibbutz opened a facility to bottle the water of the Ein Gedi spring , which led to some controversy regarding the reselling of a public resource.

Botanical Garden

The kibbutz operates a 100 dunam (10 ha, 24.7 acre) botanical garden housing over 900 plant species from around the world. The garden is actually laid out in such a manner that it incorporates the village within it. The garden joined the register of the Botanic Gardens Conservation International in 1994, and today is recognized by the National Geographic Society as "the 11th wonder of the world."Fact|date=September 2007 The garden includes Date palms and Arecaceae, tropical and desert flora.

External links and references

* [http://www.eingedi.co.il/HTMLs/Home.aspx Official website] he icon
* [http://www.bgci.org/garden.php?id=2258&ftrCountry=IL&ftrKeyword=&ftrBGCImem=&ftrIAReg= Dead Sea Ein Gedi Botanic Garden] at Botanic Gardens Conservation International
* [http://www.negev-net.org.il/HTMLs/article.aspx?C2004=12755 Kibbutz Ein Gedi] at Negev information center he icon