History of the Jewish Community of Rafah in Gaza

Learn about the thriving Jewish community in Rafah during the Byzantine era, the attempt to establish a modern community and the detention of over 1,000 Jews by the British during Black Sabbath (Operation Agatha). Plus, the success of Kfar Darom, a kibbutz in Gaza populated by Holocaust refugees in the 1940s and Moshe Smilansky, the peace activist who purchased the land. Hear about their idealistic life, a dramatic Gazan Passover seder under Egyptian gunfire and their eventual evacuation.

Yehudit Tannenbaum was a medic in Kfar Darom, Gaza and helped defend it for five week during the Egyptian invasion. She met her husband there. Credit: 222: The Days of Kfar Darom by Aryeh Itzhaki

Kfar Darom was populated by young, idealistic religious farmers, many refugees from the Holocaust. Credit: 222: The Days of Kfar Darom by Aryeh Itzhaki

Jews purchased land in Rafah, Gaza in 1910 with plans to create an agricultural community.

British troops raided Jewish villages in 1946 in what was called Black Sabbath or Operation Agatha. They arrested over 2,000 Jews and sent most to Rafah in Gaza.

The Jewish refugees from World War II created an oasis in Gaza at Kfar Darom, impressing United Nations officials who visited in 1947, until they were attacked and forced out.

NOTES;

• 222: The Days of Kfar Darom 1948 : The Height of Bravery in Israel’s Wars by

  Aryeh Itzhaki

• The Forgotten Kibbutz - Kfar Darom - Israel HaYom news

• The youth who stood in front of the Egyptian army for 222 days - Maariv news

• Rafah land purchase - Ha-Tsfira news, 1910

• Kfar Darom rebuilds outside Gaza - JTA news, 1949

• The Jews in Egypt and in Palestine under the Fatimid Caliphs by Jacob Mann (discusses Jewish life in Rafah)