Beit Ezra

Beit Ezra (Hebrew: בֵּית עֶזְרָא‎, lit. House of Ezra) is a moshav in southern Israel. Located between Ashdod and Ashkelon on the Israeli coastal plain, it falls under the jurisdiction of Be'er Tuvia Regional Council. In 2019 it had a population of 1,116.[1]

Beit Ezra בֵּית עֶזְרָא‎ بيت عزرا
Beit Ezra Beit Ezra
Coordinates: 31°44′12″N 34°39′21″E
Country	Israel
District	Southern
Council	Be'er Tuvia
Affiliation	Moshavim Movement
Founded	1950
Founded by	Iraqi Jewish refugees
Population  (2019)[1]	1,116
Name meaning	House of Ezra

History

The moshav was founded in 1950 by Jewish refugees from Iraq on the land of the depopulated Palestinian village of Hamama[2] and was named after Ezra.[3] South of the moshav is Hill 69, which served as a military post and was the scene of fighting during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Also nearby is the Ad Halom bridge at which the Egyptian army was stopped during their advance towards Tel Aviv.[4][5]

References

1. "Population in the Localities 2019" (XLS). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
2. Khalidi, Walid (1992). All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948. Washington D.C.: Institute for Palestine Studies. p. 100. ISBN 0-88728-224-5.
3. El'azari, Yuval, ed. (2005). Mapa's Concise Gazetteer of Israel (in Hebrew). Tel Aviv: Mapa Publishing. p. 75. ISBN 965-7184-34-7.
4. Na'aman, Ayelet (April 28, 2009). "7 fascinating memorials". YNet News. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
5. Press, Viva Sarah (December 5, 2016). "The top 10 most fabulous bridges in Israel". Israel 21c. Retrieved April 16, 2019.