Dorot

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DOROT

DOROT (Heb. דּוֹרוֹת), kibbutz in southern Israel, 10½ mi. (17 km.) E. of Gaza, affiliated with Iḥud ha-Kibbutzim, founded in 1941 by immigrants from Germany in a move to spread Jewish settlement southward toward the Negev at a time when the Nazi armies were advancing on Egypt. In 1946 the kibbutz was severely damaged during a search for illicit arms by the British. Thorough soil reclamation work was necessary before farming became possible. Dorot engaged in farming (field crops and dairy cattle in partnership with nearby kibbutz *Ruḥamah), produced herbs, and operated a guest house. In 2002 its population was 500. Its name is composed of the initials of the labor leader Dov *Hos, his wife Rivkah, and his daughter Tirzah, who all died in a road accident.

website:

www.dorot.org.il.

[Efraim Orni]

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