Gush Etzion

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This article is about the historic Etzion Bloc of settlement. For the modern regional council, see Gush Etzion Regional Council.

Gush Etzion (Hebrew גוש עציון, literally bloc of the tree) is a group of Israeli settlements in the northern Judea region of the West Bank.

1 History
2 Present
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] History

[edit] First Attempts

The first modern Jewish attempt to settle the area known today as Gush Etzion took place in 1927 by a group of Yemenite Jews who founded an agricultural village called Migdal Eder (Hebrew מגדל עדר), in reference to a biblical location (Genesis 35:21)[1]. The location was purchased because it was roughly equidistant from Bethlehem and Hebron, and thus fell between the zones of influence of the local Arab clans. Two years later, the 1929 Palestine riots and recurring hostilities forced the group to flee.

In 1935, Jewish businessman Shmuel Holtzmann provided backing for another attempt at settling the area. The initial kibbutz was named Kfar Etzion, or 'village of the tree', in his honor, as the German holtz means 'tree', as does the Hebrew etz. The 1936-1939 Arab revolt made life intolerable for the residents, so they returned to Jerusalem in 1937.

The Jewish National Fund organized a third attempt at settlement in 1943 with the refounding of Kfar Etzion by members of the religious Mizrachi movement[2]. Despite the tough soil, shortage of potable water, harsh winters, and constant threat of fatal attacks, this group managed to succeed. Their isolation was somewhat relieved by the establishment in 1945 of Massuot Yitzchak and Ein Tzurim, also populated by young members of the Mizrachi. Against the backdrop of an impending struggle for Israeli independence and as a show of solidarity, the secular Hashomer Hatzair founded a fourth kibbutz, Revadim.

[edit] The Siege

On November 29, 1947, the United Nations approved the Partition Plan. The Arab hostilities began almost immediately, and travel to Jerusalem became exceedingly difficult. For five months the bloc was besieged, first by Arab irregulars, and then by the Jordanian Arab Legion. Although they had very few arms, a decision was made to hold out, as they were the only position standing between the hostile Arab forces and the Jews of Jerusalem.

Throughout the winter hostilities intensified and several relief convoys from the Haganah in Jerusalem were decimated by Arab ambushes. In January, the women and children were evacuated with British assistance. A last-ditch group of defenders attempting to march to Gush Etzion under cover of darkness are discovered and killed. Despite some emergency flights by Piper Cubs out of Tel Aviv onto an improvised airfield, adequate supplies were not getting in.

In May 1948, the Arab Legion and irregulars launched several massive attacks, and on May 13, Kfar Etzion fell, and all but four of its surrendered defenders were massacred. The next day, the three other kibbutzim surrendered, the same day as the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel.

Main article: Kfar Etzion massacre

[edit] The Return

"The lone oak"

From 1949 until 1967 Gush Etzion was controlled by Jordan. During the interim, the survivors of Massuot Yitzchak, Ein Tzurim, and Revadim founded their communities anew in Israel to the west of the original sites. The survivors of Kfar Etzion ultimately founded Nir Etzion in the Mount Carmel area near Haifa.

During the Jordanian occupation, all the buildings were destroyed and the thousands of trees planted in Gush Etzion were uprooted, save a very old one known as the "lone oak." For 19 years, the survivors would gather on the Israel-Jordan frontier and gaze at the tree in remembrance of what was[3].

As a result of the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel controlled the area of the former Etzion Bloc. That year, the children who had been evacuated, now grown, petitioned Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol to allow the reestablished of Kfar Etzion. Since then, Gush Etzion has continued to grow. The settlement of Rosh Tzurim was founded on the former site of Ein Tzurim and Revadim, and Kfar Etzion's poultry houses have been built in the area of Massuot Yitzchak. Many other settlements and two municipalities have been founded in the area of historic Gush Etzion, and its name was taken for the greater Gush Etzion Regional Council. The Israeli population in the entire area approaches 50,000 residents.