Netiv Ha-Lamed-He

NETIV HA-LAMED-HE (Heb. ?????? ?????), kibbutz in the Elah Valley, central Israel, affiliated with Ha-Kibbutz ha-Me'u?ad. It was founded by a group of Israeli youth in 1949, later joined by immigrants from various countries. In the initial years Netiv ha-Lamed-He was an isolated outpost, but it progressed after the *Adullam Region development project was launched in the mid-1950s. Its farming included field crops, fruit plantations, poultry, and dairy cattle. In addition, the kibbutz manufactured water filters and ran a guest house. In 2002 its population was 420. The name of the kibbutz, "Pathway of the Thirty-Five," commemorates the *Haganah unit of 35 men who were killed by Arabs while trying to reach the besieged E?yon Bloc in the Israeli *War of Independence (1948; see *Kefar E?yon). A memorial has been erected near the kibbutz.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2008 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.