Giv‘at ‘Am Colony

Giv‘at ‘Am is a kibbutz located in the southern part of occupied Palestine, approximately 12 kilometers from Ashkelon on the road leading to Be’er Mordechai. It was established in 1942.

The kibbutz was founded on land expropriated by the Jewish National Fund, which previously belonged to the depopulated Palestinian village of Simsim. The initial founding core, called “Mahar,” was formed in Germany within the framework of the United Kibbutz Movement as a joint nucleus for both religious and secular members. Although the group initially included many religious members, over time, many secular members joined while some religious members left.

The group settled near Kfar Saba in 1935, and in November 1938, there were protests by religious members over Sabbath desecration within the group.

On August 28, 1942, a pioneering group of core members arrived at the initial settlement site of the kibbutz on a hill west of the current location. The goal was to establish a strong foothold on approximately 600 dunams of land acquired by the Jewish National Fund around the village of Simsim. These lands were scattered across more than one hundred small plots, including an orchard of about 80 dunams located roughly one kilometer north of the settlement point, which contained a water pumping station serving the kibbutz.

Initially, about 10 people lived at the temporary settlement site, where huts were built for a dining room, laundry room, clinic, dining hall, and prayer area, and tents were set up for living quarters. In October 1942, two members were injured when their tractor struck an old landmine. Most members continued living near Kfar Saba until the kibbutz was moved to its permanent location in 1945.

During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the kibbutz was on the front lines facing Egyptian forces and came under direct fire from the nearby battlefield of Holitkat. As a result, the children and women of the kibbutz took refuge in Jaffa.

In its early years, during the first decade, the kibbutz faced financial difficulties and accumulated debt.

On July 19, 2013, a temporary synagogue was opened in Giv‘at ‘Am, initially located in one of the shelters. After about four months, it was relocated to a building that had been used for many years as a clothing warehouse and underwent renovations. In 2014, the kibbutz began expanding and integrating new families.

These kibbutzim were targets of Hamas rockets for many years. In 2008, a rocket killed a resident, who was the guardian of the English actor Paul Kaye, who had lived there for a year and met his wife there.

As of 2022, the population of the settlement was 674 settlers.

Sources:
Due to the scarcity of Arabic sources, Hebrew sources were used: the official settlement website in Hebrew, the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, and for the village of Simsim, the source Palestine Remembered.