Retamim

Retamim רְתָמִים‎ رتميم
Retamim
Coordinates:31°3′13″N34°41′24″E
Country	Israel
District	Southern
Council	Menashe
Affiliation	Kibbutz Movement
Founded	1983
Founded by	DemobilizedIDFsoldiers
Population (2022)	651

Retamim(Hebrew:רְתָמִים) is akibbutzin the centralNegevdesert in southernIsrael.Located three kilometres northwest ofRevivim,it falls under the jurisdiction ofRamat HaNegev Regional Council.In 2022 it had a population of 651.

History

The community was founded by a group ofdemobilizedIDFsoldiers and new immigrants who started to gather in the kibbutzBe'eriin 1978. A second group was established inRevivimin early 1979. The two groups merged in mid-1979 and moved to a caravan site opposite Park Golda afterTlalimhad moved to its permanent site in December 1979.

However, due to a lack of support from theKibbutz Movement,the kibbutz did not expand, and the movement acted to evict the members, some moved toRevivimothers to other kibbutzim and the rest to the towns until eventually only one of the original members remained.

In 1983 the kibbutz was finally established on its present site, assisted byNahalsoldiers from theHebrew Scouts.In 1994 it united with Kibbutz Revivim after suffering from social problems and members leaving. Some houses were converted into aholiday villagecalledRotem BeMidbar,though this closed in 2000. From 2002, it served as animmigrantabsorption centre catering largely forimmigrantsfromEthiopiawhich closed in the fall of 2009.

In 2007, a religiousnucleusbegan to form to settle the place, which settled temporarily inTlalim.On August 16, 2009, the place was repopulated and became a religious community settlement with close to 150 families (as of spring 2024). The kibbutz is planned to grow to a population of about 300 families and be a central settlement in theRamat HaNegev Regional Council.

In February 2024, a number of Bedouin intruders infiltrated the kibbutz, and were arrested by the civil defense squad. A member of the emergency squad shot one of them, Juma’a al-Danifri, dead. The shooter claimed self-defense, but his version contradicted other testimonies and investigation findings.