Erez

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Erez ארז‎ إيرز‎
Kibbutz
Erez in early 1949
Erez Show map of Ashkelon region of Israel Erez Show map of Israel
Coordinates: 31°33′36″N 34°33′58″E / 31.56000°N 34.56611°E / 31.56000; 34.56611
Country	Israel
District	Southern
Council	Shaʽar HaNegev
Affiliation	Kibbutz Movement
Founded	1949 (original location) 1950 (current location)
Founded by	Noar HaOved
Population  (2022)[1]	616
Website	www.erez.org.il

Erez (Hebrew: אֶרֶז, lit. 'cedar') is a kibbutz in southwestern Israel. Located just 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) north of the Gaza Strip, it is the namesake of the nearby Erez Crossing.

The kibbutz was founded in 1949 and moved to its current location in 1950. In 2019, it had a population of 558.^[1]

Located in the northwestern Negev around 18 kilometres (11 mi) south of the coastal city of Ashkelon, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Shaʽar HaNegev Regional Council.

Erez is named after the first group that settled the kibbutz, who were members of the Noar HaOved from Petah Tikva. It was founded in 1949.

Archaeological discoveries from Erez include a statue of a griffin with a Greek dedication by a priest, dating to 210/211 AD. Additionally, fragments of Greek inscriptions, one potentially Latin, have been found here.^[2]

Before the founding of the kibbutz the Palestinian village of Dimrah (Arabic: دمرة) existed on the same land.^[3] During the first 1948 Palestine War in 1948 the approximately 520 inhabitants were forcefully driven out by Israeli forces as part of the Nakba.^[4][5]

On 7 October 2023, the kibbutz was attacked in the opening stage of the 2023 Israel-Hamas war. The kibbutz security team repulsed the attack in an hours-long battle, losing one of its members, Amir Naim. Two others were injured and received treatment outside the kibbutz^[6]

The security team of Kibbutz assembled to prevent the Hamas soldiers from entering the kibbutz through the main gate. After contacting the IDF they were informed that no help is coming. A firefight involving rifles, grenades and RPGs ensued.

The whole kibbutz was evacuated to a Hotel in Mitzpe Ramon. After several weeks, makeshift schools were established. Since then the kibbutz population was relocated to Kiryat Gat. ^[7]

The kibbutz has three main industries: agriculture (arable and fruit farming as well as animal husbandry), manufacturing (Erez Thermoplastics Products manufactures plastic-covered materials), and research and development.^{[citation needed]}

• 
  The Dining Room
• 
  The Dining Room
• 
  The Dining Room
• 
  Protected space near the dining room

• Keren Neubach

• Erez Crossing, a border crossing point between Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip

Kibbutz movement in crisis. Article by Larry Barzelai)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Erez.

• Official website (in Hebrew)