Tzofar

Tzofar is a moshav in Israel's Central Arava, located on Highway 90 between the community settlements of Sapir and Tzukim, south of Ein Yahav.[1] It is one of the Central Arava's five moshavim, alongside Idan, Hatzeva, Ein Yahav, and Paran. The region also includes the community settlements of Sapir and Zukim.[2]

The community began in 1968 as a Nahal outpost at a site south of the present moshav, where Tzukim stands today.[3][1] After several years of searching for suitable agricultural land, the founding group moved to the current valley in the early 1980s. Then-Defense Minister Ariel Sharon reportedly showed the group the site, whose soil was considered more suitable for farming than other nearby areas.[3]

The move established the permanent agricultural community at its present location. Farming subsequently shaped both the physical development of the moshav and its relationship with the nearby land across the Jordanian border.[3]

Population reports provide dated snapshots of Tzofar's growth. In 2018, the moshav was described as having about 400 residents in 98 families.[4] A 2024 feature placed its population at approximately 450.[1] These figures are estimates from different years rather than a current official census count.

Agriculture, including the cultivation of peppers and dates, remains central to Tzofar's economy and community identity.[1] Family farms also formed the basis of the moshav's long-standing economic connection to the agricultural enclave across the border.[4]

At the regional level, the Central Arava had about 600 farms producing more than half of Israel's fresh vegetable exports, despite average annual rainfall of only about two inches.[2] These are regional figures that illustrate the agricultural setting in which Tzofar developed, rather than production figures specific to the moshav.

The Tzofar enclave — identified in treaty documents as Zofar/Al-Ghamr — lay east of the Israeli border inside Jordanian territory. The Israel–Jordan peace treaty, signed on October 26, 1994, established a temporary special regime for the enclave under Annex I(C), alongside a similar arrangement for Naharayim in the north.[5][6] The treaty defined the area's boundary on an appended orthophoto map and described it as land "under Jordan's sovereignty with Israeli private land use rights."[6]

Under the annex, Jordan undertook to grant landowners, their invitees, and employees "without charge unimpeded freedom of entry to, exit from, land usage and movement within the area." It also agreed not to apply customs or immigration regulations to those crossing directly from Israel for agricultural or other agreed purposes.[6] Jordanian law applied within the enclave, while Israeli law governing extraterritorial activities could apply in limited circumstances to Israelis and their activities there. Landowners could dispose of their land under applicable Jordanian law.[6]

Published measurements of the enclave are not consistent. A 1995 policy study described conditional cultivation rights covering 2,000 dunams, while the INSS later estimated the Zofar area at roughly 500 acres.[7][5] Calcalist described a broader 4,500-dunam enclave with about 1,100 dunams under cultivation, whereas Ynet reported that 1,200 dunams were used for vegetable exports.[3][4] These figures should be treated as different reported measures rather than as a single settled total.

Local reporting traces Tzofar farmers' cultivation of the enclave to the early 1980s, when the founding group reached the moshav's present location.[3] Farmers crossed an international border each working day, passing through an Israeli checkpoint, a Jordanian checkpoint, and a Jordanian military post to reach their fields.[3]

Personal relationships developed between the farmers and Jordanian soldiers. Farmers drank coffee with them, brought ice pops in summer, and delivered dates during Ramadan.[3] One resident described the enclave not merely as farmland but as a symbol of coexistence — "the closest thing we have in this country to a normal border like in Europe."[3]

In 2018, 35 families from the moshav farmed in the enclave, and the farm coordinator estimated that about one-third of the community depended on it in some way for their livelihood.[4] One farmer said all his land was there, while another reported that roughly 30 of his 50 dunams lay across the border.[4]

Annex I(C) set the special regime's initial duration at 25 years, with automatic renewal for further equal periods unless either party gave one year's prior notice of termination. Either party could then request consultations.[6][5] Although media accounts sometimes described the arrangement as a lease, Jordan received no compensation for the privileges it granted, and the area remained subject to Jordanian laws and regulations.[7]

On October 21, 2018, King Abdullah II notified Israel that Jordan would not renew the treaty annexes covering Naharayim and Zofar.[8] The announcement came amid domestic pressure in Jordan: demonstrators in Amman had demanded the return of the lands, and 87 of Jordan's 130 members of parliament had signed a petition calling for termination of the special regime and restoration of full Jordanian sovereignty.[5] King Abdullah said the land was Jordanian and would remain under full Jordanian control.[4]

Efforts to preserve long-term Israeli access did not secure renewal of the treaty regime.[9][3] The 25-year special regime expired in November 2019, but Tzofar farmers received a negotiated six-month extension. During that period, they faced new restrictions involving entry documents, working hours, and the number of workers allowed through the crossing; approximately 100 Thai agricultural workers encountered repeated delays.[3]

The final evacuation occurred in spring 2020 after the extension ended.[3][10] Farmers dismantled established pepper fields while awaiting compensation and replacement land.[3] Local reports measure the broader farming history differently from the treaty period, describing either 36 years or about four decades of cultivation, while the treaty-based special regime itself lasted 25 years.[3][10]

The loss of the enclave caused a severe livelihood disruption for Tzofar's agricultural families.[11] Farmer Erez Gibori, who had grown crops there for 13 years, said he might have to leave the Arava if a solution was not found. Around 30 other families were reported to have been affected.[11]

The head of the Central Arava Regional Council called on the state to take responsibility for farmers evacuated from Jordanian territory. The Prime Minister's Office said a budget had been approved to help Tzofar farmers cultivate alternative land.[11]

Disagreement emerged over delays in preparing replacement fields. Gibori attributed the obstacles to Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael–Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF), while KKL-JNF said the Finance Ministry had delayed the budget and that preparatory work would begin after the government transferred the funds. At the time of reporting, only part of a promised NIS 20 million aid package had been disbursed.[11]

Nof Tzofar Lookout stands on Har Tzofar, near Highway 90 and north of the moshav, and opened to visitors without charge in July 2024.[10] Construction began in 2021 as part of Moshav Tzofar's 40th-anniversary celebrations and took three years. The Central Arava Regional Council, the Arava Drainage and Streams Authority, moshav residents, and trainees from the Tzofar preparatory academy participated in the project.[12] The site includes a one-kilometer circular walking path and a 15-ton conglomerate rock at the main observation point.[12]

The lookout was established at the initiative of Sasson Elias, one of the moshav's founders. It offers panoramic views of the desert, Tzofar's agricultural fields, the Tzin Cliffs, and the Arava Valley, including the direction of the historic enclave across the Jordanian border.[13][10]

The inauguration ceremony, originally planned for May 2024, was postponed after three Tzofar residents were killed during the Iron Swords War: Staff Sergeant Ido Appel, Staff Sergeant Gali Roi Shakutai, and Staff Sergeant Roi Elias.[12][10] The lookout subsequently gained additional memorial significance for the community.[13]

The Antelope Ranch at Moshav Tzofar is another attraction along Highway 90 in the Arava.[14]