Tzelafon

Tzelafon lies northwest of Beit Shemesh, near Road 44, and belongs to the Mate Yehuda Regional Council.[1][2] Its economy includes agricultural fields and farm-based wine, beer, and hospitality businesses.[3][1] Its recorded peripherality-index rank was 964 among localities, municipalities, and local councils in the table reporting its 2020 population.[2]

Tzelafon was established in 1950 and has the official locality code 796.[4] An earlier CBS register assigns it classification code 31, defined as “Moshav or collective village.”[5] The English spelling “ZELAFON” appears in the alphabetical locality list, which also identifies 1950 as the year of Jewish settlement.[4]

Tzelafon had 437 residents in 1961, 505 in 1972, 477 in 1983, and 550 in 1995.[5] The historical register shows a dash rather than a population figure for 1948.[5] A separate alphabetical locality list records a population of 1,105 under the heading “Population 31.12.”[4] The population reported for 2020 was 1,075.[2]

In 2015, Tzelafon faced a severe shortage of tertiary treated wastewater for irrigating its fields because the irrigated area exceeded what the treatment facility’s production capacity could supply.[3] The moshav prepared to switch a substantial area from treated wastewater to freshwater irrigation, subject to Ministry of Health requirements.[3] These safeguards included backflow prevention, disinfection of lines, and disconnections.[3]

Navot Winery was established by Moti Bohadana on the edge of his farm, alongside a brewery and café next to the vineyard.[1] In 2016, the winery served wine made from Cabernet and Merlot grapes grown below it, while the brewery produced beer by hand using a traditional method.[1] The beers were given women’s names, including Golda, Alma, Tirza, Tamara, and Hannah.[1] The café, brewery, and winery offered food and tastings and, at the time of the report, opened on Fridays.[1]

A 2012 report described an April 21, 2009 warning in which the Israel Lands Administration advised participants in the expansions of Tzelafon and Nahum against contracting with Makorot Shlita or another company for centralized construction. The warning stated that anyone proceeding despite the notice would be putting their money at risk.[6] A May 2012 report described arbitration involving purchasers of plots in Tzelafon’s expansion and Makorot Shlita, owned by entrepreneur Roni Ben-Yehuda.[7] The company reported financial difficulty meeting arbitration expenses and requested additional time to submit its arguments; the report did not provide the arbitration’s outcome.[7]