Kibbutz Nirim Kibbutz Nirim was founded in 1946 by members of the “Hashomer Hatzair” youth movement in Israel, and young people from Europe who arrived in Israel at the end of World War II. The kibbutz was established on Yom Kippur night in 1946 together with ten other Jewish settlements in the Negev. The site, called Dangur, was close to the Egyptian border and the Arab town of Rafiah. The close proximity to the Egyptian border influenced the life and development of the kibbutz over the years. On the day of the declaration of the founding of the State of Israel - May 15, 1948, the Egyptian Army invaded. Kibbutz Nirim was the first Israeli settlement to be attacked by tanks, planes and infantry. The kibbutz was heavily shelled by artillery. All the buildings were destroyed and eight members were killed. The others took shelter in underground dugouts and repelled the armored attack with only small arms fire. Despite its great superiority in men and weapons, the Egyptian Army retreated with heavy losses but continued its march northwards leaving the kibbutz surrounded. After the attack, life on the kibbutz was conducted in underground shelters and bunkers. Heavy daily shelling became routine. The attack, and the death of eight young founders, some of whom were the last surviving members of families who escaped the Holocaust in Europe, has influenced the character of Nirim to this very day. It is symbolic that on one of the walls, which were left standing after the attack, a slogan from the May Day celebration remained: “Not the tank, but man will be victorious.” After the War of Independence the kibbutz moved some twenty-five kilometers north to its present site, on the Gaza Strip border. Security problems remained, however. Some members were killed by mines in the fields of the kibbutz. In 1955 the kibbutz was shelled again by the Egyptians and the founder of the dairy, was killed, and others badly injured. After the Six Day War, the first born son of the kibbutz was killed by a mine in the avocado grove. In his memory the kibbutz constructed a large sports hall near the swimming pool, which serves the whole area. The Western Negev in which the kibbutz settled is full of archeological remains indicating the existence of a flourishing Jewish settlement, Maon, from the 4th century C.E. The ruins of a large synagogue were found near the kibbutz, with a mosaic floor with pictures of various animals, vines, pomegranates and Jewish symbols such as the Menorah and Shofar. A similar mosaic floor but of a church with Christian symbols of bread and fish was discovered by Australian soldiers in 1917 about 10 km From the kibbutz. The floor is now installed in the National War Museum in Canberra, Australia. The region has a pleasant climate, but lies on the “drought line”, the limit of appreciable rainfall. The central problem of agriculture here is the lack of water. As rainfall is erratic, dry years are common. Thus, agriculture is based on irrigation with water allotted from the National Water Carrier. The kibbutz has also built a reservoir in a nearby wadi attempting to divert some of the flash-floods which sweep through the Negev into the sea in winter. Purified sewage, from the Tel-Aviv region, is also used for some crops. Today Nirim has a large and developed agricultural economy, spread over 20,000 dunams (5,000 acres). It grows field crops (wheat, barley), partially irrigated and partially relying on rain - irrigated crops (potatoes, carrots); avocado orchards. There is a dairy with over 250 milk cows. There are ten acres of hothouses growing flowers for export. Nirim participates in the regional agricultural enterprises, such as packing sheds, cold storage and marketing facilities. It also maintains, together with other Negev kibbutzim, a regional kibbutz high school: “Ma’aleh Habsor”. The school is a comprehensive one, and offers both academic and vocational courses to the youth of the Negev kibbutzim from grade 7 to grade 12. There is also a regional kibbutz primary school: “Nitzaney Eshkol”. In the last ten years there has been a great change in the places of work of many members. Many pursue their professions outside the kibbutz as managers, economists, psychologists, teachers, lecturers etc. In the kibbutz there is a studio producing work in silk printing, “Itzuvnik” a graphic art office, a deep sea diving school, a shooting range, "Barbit" - pub. A few work in a neighbouring paint factory, NIRLAT, in which the kibbutz has a part share. The kibbutz has grown in the past years with young people from Israel and especially South America as well as those born in Nirim. Today, the population of Nirim numbers about 400 of which there are 220 members, and 180 children, soldiers and parents.