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Shafir

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01In brief

Shafir is an educational locality in Israel's Southern Coastal Plain, within the Malakhi Region and under the jurisdiction of the Shafir Regional Council. It was founded in 1949, and a Central Bureau of Statistics locality table assigns it code 0692 and records 1,074 residents in 2019. The name may also echo the biblical Saphir, or Shaphir, of Micah 1:11; an 1889 reference work placed that site between Eleutheropolis and Ascalon and proposed one of the villages called Suafir near Ashdod as a probable identification.

02Overview

Shafir is listed in the Southern Coastal Plain's Malakhi Region and falls under the jurisdiction of the Shafir Regional Council. A 2004 reference classified it as an educational locality, while the Central Bureau of Statistics identifies it as locality 0692 and gives 1949 as its year of Jewish settlement.[1][2]

03History

Shafir was established in 1949, shortly after Israel's War of Independence.[1][2] Moshe Moshkowitz had previously been among the founders of the Masuot Yitzhak group, which settled in Gush Etzion in 1945. According to a Jerusalem Post account, the religious kibbutz was destroyed during the War of Independence in 1948, after which Moshkowitz and surviving defenders re-established a kibbutz of the same name in Shafir.[4]

Moshkowitz later became a pioneer of the Shafir Regional Council and served as its head for 27 years. During his tenure, he established the Or Etzion Yeshiva High School in the surrounding area.[4]

04Demographics

Shafir recorded 440 inhabitants on December 31, 2004.[1] By 2019, its population had reached 1,074.[2] The broader Shafir Regional Council, which includes communities beyond the locality itself, recorded 12,349 residents in 2022 municipal-participation data.[5]

05Economy and Culture

Education is prominent in Shafir's documented institutional history, and the locality was classified as educational in a 2004 place list.[1] Moshkowitz described the regional council's educational work as a means of integrating Jewish immigrants from Morocco, Poland, Yemen, Tunisia, Hungary, and Iran by providing suitable institutions for their children.[4]

06Notable Sites

The educational institutions associated with Shafir include the Or Etzion Yeshiva High School, established by Moshe Moshkowitz in the council area.[4] Archival project records also identify a girls' vocational high school built in Shafir under the auspices of the Israel Education Fund of the United Jewish Appeal. The records give October 9, 1966, as the construction start date and January 9, 1968, as the contractual completion date.[6]

07The Shafir Regional Council

Shafir falls under a regional council that was listed at socioeconomic cluster 5 with 12,349 residents in 2022.[5] The council's archive is listed under identifier IL-SHFR-001, together with the contact telephone number 08-8508922.[7]

Archival records concerning the council span 1951 to 1974 and include council files from several periods, drafts and supporting documents for a 1971–1972 report, and a report examining the council's financial administration in 1962–1963.[8] A separately cataloged photograph documents a visit to the Shafir Regional Council led by Sir Henry d'Avigdor Goldsmid in connection with Kiryat Gat.[9]

08Biblical and Historical Name

The name Shafir may be connected to the biblical Saphir—rendered Shaphir in the Revised Version—mentioned in Micah 1:11.[3] Eusebius and Jerome described Saphir as lying in the mountain district between Eleutheropolis and Ascalon. An 1889 biblical-place reference work proposed one of the three villages called Suafir near Ashdod as a probable modern identification, rather than a confirmed one.[3]

Sources

  1. 1Encyclopedia.com — Land of Israel Population (accessed September 17, 2026)
  2. 2Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (accessed September 17, 2026)
  3. 3Names and Places in the Old and New Testament and Apocrypha (accessed September 17, 2026)
  4. 4The Jerusalem Post (accessed September 17, 2026)
  5. 5Israel Ministry of Health (accessed September 17, 2026)
  6. 6American Jewish Archives (accessed September 17, 2026)
  7. 7National Library of Israel — Israel Archive Network (accessed September 17, 2026)
  8. 8Israel State Archives (accessed September 17, 2026)
  9. 9National Library of Israel — Kiryat Gat Photograph (accessed September 17, 2026)

IsraelPedia Question & Answers

  • What is Shafir in Israel?

    Shafir is an educational locality in Israel's Southern Coastal Plain, situated within the Malakhi Region and under the jurisdiction of the Shafir Regional Council. It was founded in 1949 and had a population of 1,074 residents as of 2019, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics.

  • How was Shafir founded and what is its connection to Gush Etzion?

    Shafir was established in 1949, shortly after Israel's War of Independence. Moshe Moshkowitz had previously been among the founders of the Masuot Yitzhak group, which settled in Gush Etzion in 1945. After that religious kibbutz was destroyed during the War of Independence in 1948, Moshkowitz and surviving defenders re-established a kibbutz of the same name in Shafir.

  • What role did Moshe Moshkowitz play in Shafir's development?

    Moshe Moshkowitz became a pioneer of the Shafir Regional Council and served as its head for 27 years. During his tenure, he established the Or Etzion Yeshiva High School in the surrounding area and described the council's educational work as a means of integrating Jewish immigrants from Morocco, Poland, Yemen, Tunisia, Hungary, and Iran by providing suitable institutions for their children.

  • How has Shafir's population changed over time?

    Shafir recorded 440 inhabitants on December 31, 2004, and its population grew to 1,074 by 2019. The broader Shafir Regional Council, which includes communities beyond the locality itself, recorded 12,349 residents in 2022 municipal-participation data.

  • What notable educational institutions are associated with Shafir?

    Shafir is associated with the Or Etzion Yeshiva High School, established by Moshe Moshkowitz in the council area. Archival records also identify a girls' vocational high school built in Shafir under the auspices of the Israel Education Fund of the United Jewish Appeal, with a construction start date of October 9, 1966, and a contractual completion date of January 9, 1968.

  • What is the biblical connection behind the name Shafir?

    The name Shafir may be connected to the biblical Saphir — rendered Shaphir in the Revised Version — mentioned in Micah 1:11. Eusebius and Jerome described Saphir as lying in the mountain district between Eleutheropolis and Ascalon, and an 1889 biblical-place reference work proposed one of the three villages called Suafir near Ashdod as a probable modern identification, rather than a confirmed one.