Or HaNer

Or HaNer (Hebrew: אוֹר הַנֵּר, lit. 'Light of the Candle') is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located near Sderot, it falls under the jurisdiction of Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 835.^[1]

Or HaNer אוֹר הַנֵּר‎
Etymology: 'Light of the Candle'
Or HaNer Show map of Ashkelon region of Israel Or HaNer Show map of Israel
Coordinates: 31°33′27″N 34°36′7″E
Country	Israel
District	Southern
Council	Sha'ar HaNegev
Affiliation	Kibbutz Movement
Founded	1957
Founded by	Former Giv'ot Zaid residents and Argentine Jews
Population  (2022)[1]	835

Thomas A. Shannon Jr. visits the kibbutz

Etymology

Its name is taken from the Sanhedrin tractate of the Babylonian Talmud.^[2]

History

Or HaNer was established between 1955 and 1957 as a farm run by the Yitzur u-Pitu'ah company. The founders were from the gar'in of the Gordoniya, Dror and HeHalutz movements, most of whom were immigrants from Argentina and Chile. Many of them originally came from the kibbutz Giv'ot Zaid.^[2] It was founded on the land that had belonged to the depopulated Palestinian village of Najd, northeast of the Najd village site.^[3]

A burial cave dating from the 4th century CE was found here along with a Greek funerary inscription.^[4]

In 2016 U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas A. Shannon Jr. visited the kibbutz and received a tour of the kibbutz's Ornit factory,^[5] which manufactures blind rivets.^[6]