Neot Smadar
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| Coordinates: 30°2′54″N 35°1′31″E / 30.04833°N 35.02528°E / 30.04833; 35.02528 | |
| Country | Israel |
| District | Southern |
| Council | Hevel Eilot |
| Affiliation | Kibbutz Movement |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Founded by | Jerusalemite Jews |
| Population (2023)[1] | 258 |
| Website | www.neot-semadar.com |
Neot Smadar (Hebrew: נְאוֹת סְמָדַר, lit. Oasis of grape blossoms) is a kibbutz in southern Israel which is located in the Arava Desert. It falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Eilot Regional Council with an area of 80 hectares. In 2023 it had a population of 258.[1]
History
Neot Smadar is located in the southern Negev about 70 km. north of Eilat. The kibbutz was established in 1989,[2] on the grounds of an abandoned kibbutz, Shizafon.[3] Kibbutz Shizafon had been established in 1980, but its plan for growth was unsuccessful and in 1988, after it had just 15 residents left, it was abandoned. When the new pioneers settled on the site, they initially retained the name Shizafon. In 2001, the name was changed to Neot Smadar, partially in memory of Smadar Safra, the wife of one of the founders, Yosef Safra, who had been killed in a traffic accident in 1981.[4][5][6][7]
The guest rooms' village on a hill nearby was built on the grounds of the abandoned Nahal settlement Ya'alon. Neot Smadar is as an organic community featuring architecturally unique buildings with passive cooling towers. The Art Center houses 14 workshops for Stained glass, ceramics, textile, wood and metals. The building is insulated with mud bricks, with "air conditioning" supplied by a desert cooling tower.
Neot Smadar was named one of the fifty-two "Best Tourism Villages 2025" by UN Tourism.[8]
Economy
The economy is based on agriculture, with 500 dunams of organically cultivated vineyards (origin of the place name), deciduous trees, olives, date plantations and an herb garden.[9] Olive oil is produced in a cold press set up with assistance from ICA and Israel's Ministry of Industry and Trade in 2001. The high-quality oil has been conferred the highest grade by Israel's Olive Council.
The kibbutz operates a boutique organic winery and produces a variety of cheeses from fresh goat milk. Its roadside restaurant, Pundak Neot Smadar, offers vegetarian food and sells the kibbutz's organic products. Some cabins are rented to tourists.
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Neot Smadar - West
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Neot Smadar - East
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Neot Smadar arts center
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Neot Smadar arts center - from above
References
- ^ a b "Regional Statistics". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
- ^ Therefore Neot Smadar is the most recently founded kibbutz, only probably followed in the late 2020s by the projected kibbutz near Arad. (Maltz, Judy: In This Stretch of Desert, Israel Plans to Build Its First New Kibbutz in Decades, HaAretz 25th Sep 2022)
- ^ "In the spring of 1989 a number of young families and several bachelors from Jerusalem emptied out their apartments, loaded their furniture and other belongings on an old truck ... and moved to one of the truly isolated spots in Israel. ... most of them ... were students in a special school ... for Self-inquiry". (Glucklich, Ariel: Everyday Mysticism. A Contemplative Community at Work in the Desert, New Haven 2017, S. 1)
- ^ שלושה כפרים ישראליים, שונים מאוד, יתחרו בכפרים היפים בעולם
- ^ קיבוץ נאות סמדר
- ^ 17 מרץ 1989 — מדינה קטנה בערבה [כתבה]
- ^ חדשות, 29 אוגוסט 1988 — מנסים ותציל את שיזפון [כתבה]
- ^ https://www.untourism.int/news/un-tourism-announces-best-tourism-villages-2025-52-communities-leading-tourism-for-rural-development
- ^ Rising from nothing in the desert, idealists now work amid water, orchards, gardens and fish The New Farm
External links
- Official website (in Hebrew)
- English website
