Gan HaDarom

Gan HaDarom גַּן הַדָּרוֹם
Gan HaDarom
Coordinates: 31°48′15.12″N 34°42′3.95″E / 31.8042000°N 34.7010972°ECoordinates: 31°48′15.12″N 34°42′3.95″E / 31.8042000°N 34.7010972°E
Council	Gederot
Region	Southern Coastal Plain
Affiliation	Agricultural Union
Founded	1953
Founded by	Iraqi Jews immigrants

Gan HaDarom (Hebrew: גַּן הַדָּרוֹם, lit. Garden of the South) is a moshav in southern Israel. Located on the coastal plain near Ashdod, it falls under the jurisdiction of Gederot Regional Council.

History

The moshav was founded in 1953 by Jewish refugees from Iraq on Operation Ezra and Nehemiah. The first settlers in Gan HaDarom lived in a ma'abara in neighboring Gan Yavne until the infrastructure was complete for permanent habitation. In 1957-8, twenty new houses were built, and 15 families who arrived from Poland moved into them.^[1]

Today the moshav is home to 118 families. Most residents make their living not by farming, but rather they work in nearby cities Ashdod and Yavneh. The minority who work in agriculture mainly cultivate cows, chickens, fruit trees, avocado trees, and other flora.

References

1. Mapa's concise gazetteer of Israel (in Hebrew). Yuval El'azari (ed.). Tel-Aviv: Mapa Publishing. 2005. p. 117. ISBN 965-7184-34-7.