Shahar, Israel

Shahar שַׁחַר‎
Hebrew transcription(s)
• unofficial	Shachar
Shahar
Coordinates: 31°37′6.96″N 34°43′27.47″E / 31.6186000°N 34.7242972°ECoordinates: 31°37′6.96″N 34°43′27.47″E / 31.6186000°N 34.7242972°E
District	Southern
Council	Lakhish
Affiliation	Moshavim Movement
Founded	1955
Founded by	North African Jewish refugees and Indian-Jewish immigrants
Population (2015)[1]	838
Name meaning	Dawn

Shahar (Hebrew: שַׁחַר‎, lit. Dawn) is a moshav in south-central Israel. Located about three kilometres west of Kiryat Gat and one kilometre east of Nir Hen, it falls under the jurisdiction of Lakhish Regional Council. In 2015 it had a population of 838.

History

The moshav was founded in 1955 as part of the program to populate the area with Jewish refugees from North Africa and Jewish immigrants India. Its name symbolizes the dawn of Zionist settlement in Hevel Lakhish.

The main industry that they developed was growing flowers for export, an enterprise which, despite the harsh desert climate, grew and prospered. One of Shahar's leading businessmen, Eliahu Bezalel, won the Kaplan Prize in 1994 and then the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (an award for Non-Resident Indians), in recognition of these achievements.^[2]

References

1. "List of localities, in Alphabetical order" (PDF). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
2. "Roses in the Desert", a chapter within The Last Jews of Kerala by Edna Fernanades, Porobelo Books, 2008