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Kedma, Israel

Published

01In brief

Kedma (Hebrew: קדמה; also romanized as Qedma) is a locality in the Yo'av Regional Council that now functions as an educational youth village. Founded overnight between October 5 and 6, 1946, as one of eleven Jewish settlements established simultaneously in the Negev during "Operation 11 Points," it helped establish a Jewish territorial presence in the region before the United Nations partition decision. Originally founded as a kibbutz, Kedma was dismantled as a collective in 1962 and subsequently became a youth village.

02Overview

An Encyclopedia.com locality table lists “Kedmah” in the Southern Coastal Plain's Malakhi Region, gives a 1946 founding year, and associates it with Yo'av Regional Council; the source does not explain the spelling difference from Kedma.[4] The Israel Central Bureau of Statistics lists QEDMA under locality code 0392 in the Southern District's Ashkelon subdistrict and records Yoav Regional Council as its municipal affiliation.[5]

03History

Kedma was established during the night of October 5–6, 1946 — the night following Yom Kippur — as one of eleven Jewish settlements founded simultaneously in a coordinated effort known as "Operation 11 Points" or "the 11 Points in the Negev."[3][1] The other settlements established that same night were Gal-On, Shoval, Mishmar HaNegev, Nevatim, Hatzerim, Urim, Tekuma, Be'eri, Kfar Darom, and Nirim.[3][1] Approximately 300 pioneers, men and women, took part in establishing all eleven points in a single night, carried out, as a later account put it, "under the nose of the British Mandate."[1]

The land on which Kedma and the other settlements were built had been acquired beforehand, much of it purchased by the Jewish National Fund, with the explicit aim of supporting the case for Jewish settlement in the area before the British Mandate authorities.[3] The urgency behind this effort was sharpened by the British Morrison–Grady Plan, published in July 1946, which allocated only 17 percent of the land to the Jewish community while dividing large portions of the Negev between proposed British and Arab control.[3] The Jewish community responded by accelerating Negev settlement plans, and the 11 Points operation was a direct expression of that response.[3]

Water infrastructure was essential to making the settlements viable. In 1946, Mekorot began constructing two pipelines from groundwater sources at Kibbutz Nir Am to supply settlements in the northern Negev; the combined length of the system was approximately 220 kilometers, and water began flowing through the pipeline in January 1947.[3] The system was designed to serve both daily needs and agricultural development in the arid Negev, with some water also planned for Bedouin communities in the area.[3]

During the 1948 War of Independence, the pipeline serving the Negev settlements was targeted for sabotage and was guarded by Palmach units, including the "Negev Beasts," alongside Haganah forces.[3] After Israel declared independence on May 14, 1948, and Arab armies invaded the following day, the young settlements — Kedma among them — became part of the broader fighting between Israel and Egypt in the Negev.[3] Operations Yoav, Lot, Assaf, and Horev were among the campaigns that shifted the balance and led to Israeli victory in the region.[3]

A Ynet retrospective described the eleven settlements, together with three earlier Negev outposts, as making a decisive contribution to the Negev's inclusion within the future State of Israel's borders. The settlements were founded about a year before the United Nations partition decision.[1]

04Demographics

An Encyclopedia.com table recorded 90 inhabitants for the locality listed as “Kedmah” as of December 31, 2004.[4] That figure is historical and should not be treated as a current estimate. The 2021 Central Bureau of Statistics row contains blank entries for total population, Jews and others, Jews, and Arabs; accordingly, that file does not provide a current population figure for Qedma.[5]

05Economy and Culture

Kedma was originally founded as a kibbutz, as were most of the 11 Points settlements.[1] In 1962, the kibbutz was dismantled and the locality became an educational youth village, the institutional form documented by later Ynet reports.[1][6]

06Notable Sites

The Kedma youth village drew renewed public attention after the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack devastated Kibbutz Be'eri. Be'eri residents considered temporarily relocating to Kedma while their community was being rebuilt.[2][6] Ynet described the proposal as symbolically significant because Kedma and Be'eri had both been founded in the 11 Points operation in 1946; Kedma's relatively convenient geographic location also made it a practical candidate for temporary housing.[2][6]

Sources

  1. 1Ynet, "They love to slander the kibbutzniks. But thanks to the kibbutzim that sat on the borders, we have a state", accessed on September 24, 2026.
  2. 2Ynet, From the kibbutz to south Tel Aviv: Ra'im evacuees to be housed in buildings on Herzl Street, accessed on September 24, 2026.
  3. 3Israel Ministry of Education, accessed on September 24, 2026.
  4. 4Encyclopedia.com, Land of Israel: Population, accessed on September 24, 2026.
  5. 5Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, accessed on September 24, 2026.
  6. 6Ynet, In Tel Aviv buildings or in kibbutzim: Gaza Envelope communities in a marathon of decisions around the temporary home, accessed on September 24, 2026.

IsraelPedia Question & Answers

  • What is Kedma, Israel?

    Kedma is a locality in the Yo'av Regional Council that now functions as an educational youth village. Founded overnight between October 5 and 6, 1946, as one of eleven Jewish settlements established simultaneously in the Negev during "Operation 11 Points," it helped establish a Jewish territorial presence in the region before the United Nations partition decision. Originally founded as a kibbutz, Kedma was dismantled as a collective in 1962 and subsequently became a youth village.

  • What was "Operation 11 Points" and what role did Kedma play in it?

    "Operation 11 Points," also called "the 11 Points in the Negev," was a coordinated effort in which eleven Jewish settlements were founded simultaneously during the night of October 5–6, 1946 — the night following Yom Kippur — carried out, as a later account described it, "under the nose of the British Mandate." Kedma was one of those eleven settlements, with approximately 300 pioneers taking part across all eleven locations in a single night. The operation was a direct response to the British Morrison–Grady Plan, which had allocated only 17 percent of the land to the Jewish community while dividing large portions of the Negev between proposed British and Arab control.

  • Why were the 11 Points settlements, including Kedma, established so urgently in 1946?

    The urgency behind the 11 Points operation was driven by the British Morrison–Grady Plan, published in July 1946, which allocated only 17 percent of the land to the Jewish community while dividing large portions of the Negev between proposed British and Arab control. Much of the land on which the settlements were built had been acquired beforehand, largely purchased by the Jewish National Fund, with the explicit aim of supporting the case for Jewish settlement in the area before the British Mandate authorities. The settlements were founded approximately a year before the United Nations partition decision.

  • How was water supplied to Kedma and the other Negev settlements after their founding?

    In 1946, Mekorot began constructing two pipelines from groundwater sources at Kibbutz Nir Am to supply settlements in the northern Negev. The combined length of the system was approximately 220 kilometers, and water began flowing through the pipeline in January 1947. The system was designed to serve both daily needs and agricultural development in the arid Negev, with some water also planned for Bedouin communities in the area.

  • When did Kedma stop being a kibbutz and what did it become?

    Kedma was dismantled as a kibbutz in 1962 and subsequently became an educational youth village, the institutional form it retains today.

  • What connection does Kedma have to the October 7, 2023, attack on Kibbutz Be'eri?

    After the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack devastated Kibbutz Be'eri, Be'eri residents considered temporarily relocating to Kedma while their community was being rebuilt. Ynet described the proposal as symbolically significant because both Kedma and Be'eri had been founded together in the 11 Points operation in 1946, and Kedma's relatively convenient geographic location also made it a practical candidate for temporary housing.