Beit Shikma

Beit Shikma lies east of Route 4 in the Southern Coastal Plain, within the Ashkelon subdistrict and under the jurisdiction of the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council.[1][2] Its immediate neighbors include the communities of Giah and Talmei Yafe to the south, Mish'an to the north, and Bat Hadar to the west.[1] The moshav is situated between the cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon, along the route connecting the two.[3]

The settlement's name derives from the abundance of sycamore trees found in and around the moshav.[3] A residential expansion neighborhood was established in its center under Detailed Plan No. 2/127/03/6, which took effect on 3 February 1994.[1] A government valuation report describes the neighborhood as having roads and sidewalks, water, sewer and electricity infrastructure, street lighting, and public spaces.[1]

Beit Shikma was founded in 1950 by immigrants from Morocco, Iran, and Libya.[1] A historical listing identifies it as a moshav affiliated with Tenu'at ha-Moshavim, while the 2022 CBS localities file also records 1950 as its founding year.[4][2]

At the end of 2004, Beit Shikma had 684 residents.[4] By 2018 that figure had grown to approximately 873.[1] The Israel Central Bureau of Statistics recorded a population of 893 in 2022, listing 888 under “Jews and Others,” including 874 Jews, and 4 Arabs.[2] The moshav carries locality code 747 in the CBS localities file.[2]

In a 2021 land-valuation proceeding, the objecting appraiser described Beit Shikma as composed largely of Libyan Jews of Tripolitanian origin and argued that residents valued preserving their community and living near relatives.[1] The appraiser linked those preferences, together with limited housing supply, to demand from buyers willing to pay above broader market levels; these were valuation arguments rather than independent findings by the deciding authority.[1]

Sergeant First Class Adi Briga, a 23-year-old resident of Beit Shikma who served in the Armored Corps, was killed by a mortar shell near the Gaza Strip border.[5]

In December 2025, Storm Byron brought severe flooding to the moshav when Nahal Shikma overflowed. Water reached approximately 1.5 meters in the first row of homes, causing extensive damage to houses, yards, and vehicles and triggering a power failure.[6] Residents were rescued using watercraft and a moshav loader; some who had been trapped were taken to hospital with hypothermia.[6] One resident described water entering her parents' home through the toilet and rising to knee height within seven minutes, with five children left alone in the house as levels climbed.[6] Magen David Adom set up a treatment point in the moshav, evacuating six people in light condition and a man of around 60 in moderate condition with signs of hypothermia to hospital.[7]

A 2022 news report described Beit Shikma as a location sought by southern Israeli crime organizations.[3] The report said the moshav had initially been considered a stronghold of Shalom Domrani and that Benny Shlomo, described as Domrani's former protégé, later established a rival organization operating in the area.[3] Residents were quoted expressing fear amid the conflict between the groups.[3]

The same report described a shooting incident in the moshav involving Daniel Malsa, identified as a member of Shlomo's organization. Police suspected two men had pursued and shot at Malsa; a senior police officer said investigators believed the motive was revenge for his defection from another group. Malsa was reportedly wounded in the leg, hospitalized in Ashdod in moderate condition, and later released.[3] These characterizations reflect police suspicions and journalistic reporting and do not constitute judicial findings.