Ein HaShlosha

Ein HaShlosha (Hebrew: עין השלושה, lit. 'Spring of the Three') is a kibbutz in the western Negev desert, and also in the Gaza envelope in Israel. It falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Council.

Ein HaShlosha עין השלושה‎
Kibbutz dining room
Etymology: Spring of the Three
Ein HaShlosha Show map of Northwest Negev region of Israel Ein HaShlosha Show map of Israel
Coordinates: 31°21′1″N 34°24′9″E
Country	Israel
District	Southern
Council	Eshkol
Affiliation	Kibbutz Movement
Founded	1950
Founded by	South American immigrants
Population  (2022)[1]	353

History

The kibbutz was named in memory of three of the founding members who were killed during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It was established during the 1950s by a Nahal group of Zionist youth from South America, members of the youth movement HaNoar HaTzioni, on lands of the former kibbutz Neve Yair (Neve Yair was established in 1949 by members of the Lehi but was abandoned in June 1950).

During its first years the kibbutz suffered bombardment by the Egyptian army.^[2] Almost adjacent to the Gaza border with Khan Yunis, the kibbutz was regularly hit by Palestinian gunfire during the Gaza–Israel conflict in 2008.^[3] On 15 January 2008, an Ecuadorian volunteer, Carlos Chavez, was shot and killed by a Hamas sniper while working on the kibbutz.^[4]

During Operation Protective Edge, at least 825 rockets were fired at the Eshkol region, where the kibbutz is located. In some cases, asbestos roofs were damaged after being hit with rocket fire.^[5] The kibbutz, being near the border, has a rocket alarm only 5 seconds before the probable hit. When there are tensions, villagers stay long hours and sometimes days in bomb shelters, being unable to leave it even for a short period of time. People reportedly said they were afraid to shower, and were unable to even cook.^{[citation needed]}

2023 attacks

As part of the October 7 attacks, approximately 90 militants infiltrated the kibbutz, killing four civilians, looting, shooting, and burning houses.^[6][7] After a 5-month evacuation to Eilat, the kibbutz's 320 residents, including 92 children, returned in March 2024.^[6]

Economy

The kibbutz is largely agricultural, relying on turkey and dairy farming. It also has a small factory that manufactures lever arch files. In March 2006 hundreds of turkeys were found dead, spreading fears of the bird flu virus in Israel.^[8]

Notable people

• Yizhar Shai (born 1963), member of the Knesset

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  The main lawn in Kibbutz Ein Hasholsha
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  Residences
• 
  synagogue

References

1. "Regional Statistics". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
2. El'azari, Yuval, ed. (2005). Mapa's concise gazetteer of Israel (in Hebrew). Tel Aviv: Mapa Publishing. p. 413. ISBN 965-7184-34-7.
3. Israeli hurt by Palestinian gunfire on Negev kibbutz Archived 2009-09-16 at the Wayback Machine Haaretz, 26 March 2008
4. Rettig Gur, Haviv (15 January 2008). "Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha mourns Carlos Andres Muscara Chavez". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
5. Udasin, Sharon (4 August 2014). "State and local council to replace asbestos roofs in the line of fire from Gaza". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
6. Zomer, Navit (2024-05-15). "Rediscovering normality: Kibbutzim in southern Israel are bouncing back". Ynetnews. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
7. Rosenberg, Michelle (8 October 2023). "What happened on my kibbutz was apocalyptic". Archived from the original on 2023-10-13.
8. Yasur-Beit Or, Meital (16 March 2016). "Fear: Bird flu reaches Israel". YNet News. Retrieved 17 April 2019.