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Yotvata
Yotvata (Hebrew: יָטְבָתָה yotváta (but commonly pronounced yotvetá), Arabic: يوتفاتا) is a kibbutz in the Arava Valley in southern Israel. Located on the Highway 90's segment known as the Arava Road, adjacent to the southern Negev, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Eilot Regional Council. In 2024, it had a population of 824.
The Arava Valley is an arid desert where the average annual rainfall is less than 30 mm and temperatures often exceed 40 °C (104 °F) in summer and 21 °C (70 °F) in winter.
Located approximately 40 km north of the Red Sea, Yotvata is most prosperous Kibbutz in Hevel Eilot Regional Council. Being relatively far from major urban centers (41 kilometers north of Eilat and 130 kilometers south of Dimona), it is the center of the region, where most regional facilities are based, including a regional school, regional council offices, community center, sports center, movies and concert hall, and local airfield.
Yotvata was formed in 1951 as a Nahal settlement named Ein Radian. In 1957, it became the first kibbutz in the southern Arava region, affiliated Ihud HaKvutzot VeHaKibbutzim. The kibbutz was named for an Israelite encampment mentioned in Numbers 33:34 and Deuteronomy 10:7: "…from there they went to Gudgodah, and then to Jotbatha, a land of streaming water". Some say that biblical Yotvata was closer to the Red Sea near Taba.
The founders were a small group of men and women after military service. The challenges were many: the burning sun, heat, shortage of water, infertile land, distance from other settled areas and no solid source of income. They experimented with different crops, such as grapes, pomegranates and vegetables. They also tried to raise cattle and chickens but with little success. A date plantation proved more suitable to the arid conditions.
At that point, they decided to found a dairy that would provide milk to Eilat although breeding milking cows in the desert was considered an impossible mission. In 1962 the dairy was founded, with four cows. The person who came up with the idea was Ori Horazo (1939–1966). The Jewish Agency refused to finance the project but the Israeli Trade and Industry Minister, Pinhas Sapir agreed. In its first year, the dairy produced 500,000 liters of milk. By 2008, it was producing 62 million liters a year and controlled 63% of the Israeli dairy-beverage market (making NIS 400 million a year), and 49% of the fortified milk market (making NIS 250 million a year). It employed 130 workers and had 700 cows. The dairies of Kibbutz Yahel, Lotan, and Ketura provide milk for Yotvata.
In 1960, the first children of the community were born, and six years later the school opened with three first graders; today there are 200 kids in the kibbutz, and 600 students from all of the region communities attend the Maale Shaharut School in Yotvata from 1st grade until 12th grade.
Judging by the numerous historic forts surrounding the Kibbutz, Yotvata's location was a strategic one:
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Yotvata
Yotvata (Hebrew: יָטְבָתָה yotváta (but commonly pronounced yotvetá), Arabic: يوتفاتا) is a kibbutz in the Arava Valley in southern Israel. Located on the Highway 90's segment known as the Arava Road, adjacent to the southern Negev, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Eilot Regional Council. In 2024, it had a population of 824.
The Arava Valley is an arid desert where the average annual rainfall is less than 30 mm and temperatures often exceed 40 °C (104 °F) in summer and 21 °C (70 °F) in winter.
Located approximately 40 km north of the Red Sea, Yotvata is most prosperous Kibbutz in Hevel Eilot Regional Council. Being relatively far from major urban centers (41 kilometers north of Eilat and 130 kilometers south of Dimona), it is the center of the region, where most regional facilities are based, including a regional school, regional council offices, community center, sports center, movies and concert hall, and local airfield.
Yotvata was formed in 1951 as a Nahal settlement named Ein Radian. In 1957, it became the first kibbutz in the southern Arava region, affiliated Ihud HaKvutzot VeHaKibbutzim. The kibbutz was named for an Israelite encampment mentioned in Numbers 33:34 and Deuteronomy 10:7: "…from there they went to Gudgodah, and then to Jotbatha, a land of streaming water". Some say that biblical Yotvata was closer to the Red Sea near Taba.
The founders were a small group of men and women after military service. The challenges were many: the burning sun, heat, shortage of water, infertile land, distance from other settled areas and no solid source of income. They experimented with different crops, such as grapes, pomegranates and vegetables. They also tried to raise cattle and chickens but with little success. A date plantation proved more suitable to the arid conditions.
At that point, they decided to found a dairy that would provide milk to Eilat although breeding milking cows in the desert was considered an impossible mission. In 1962 the dairy was founded, with four cows. The person who came up with the idea was Ori Horazo (1939–1966). The Jewish Agency refused to finance the project but the Israeli Trade and Industry Minister, Pinhas Sapir agreed. In its first year, the dairy produced 500,000 liters of milk. By 2008, it was producing 62 million liters a year and controlled 63% of the Israeli dairy-beverage market (making NIS 400 million a year), and 49% of the fortified milk market (making NIS 250 million a year). It employed 130 workers and had 700 cows. The dairies of Kibbutz Yahel, Lotan, and Ketura provide milk for Yotvata.
In 1960, the first children of the community were born, and six years later the school opened with three first graders; today there are 200 kids in the kibbutz, and 600 students from all of the region communities attend the Maale Shaharut School in Yotvata from 1st grade until 12th grade.
Judging by the numerous historic forts surrounding the Kibbutz, Yotvata's location was a strategic one:
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