Ahisamakh, Israel

Ahisamakh אֲחִיסָמָךְ‎
Entrance to Ahisamakh
Ahisamakh Show map of Central Israel Ahisamakh Show map of Israel
Coordinates: 31°56′6″N 34°54′26″E
Country	Israel
District	Central
Council	Hevel Modi'in
Region	Shephelah
Affiliation	Moshavim Movement
Founded	1950
Founded by	Libyan Jewish refugees
Population  (2022)[1]	1,413

Ahisamakh (Hebrew: אֲחִיסָמָךְ, lit. 'Brother of Support') is a moshav in central Israel. Located in the Shephelah, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Modi'in Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 1,413.^[1]

History

During the Ottoman period, the area of Ahisamakh belonged to the Nahiyeh (sub-district) of Lod that encompassed the area of the present-day city of Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut in the south to the present-day city of El'ad in the north, and from the foothills in the east, through the Lod Valley to the outskirts of Jaffa in the west. This area was home to thousands of inhabitants in about 20 villages, who had at their disposal tens of thousands of hectares of prime agricultural land.^[2]

The village was established in 1950 by refugees from Msallata in Libya.^[3] It is named after the Biblical Danite Ahisamakh"^[4] (Exodus 31:6)

References

1. "Regional Statistics". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
2. Marom, Roy (2022). "Lydda Sub-District: Lydda and its countryside during the Ottoman period". Diospolis - City of God: Journal of the History, Archaeology and Heritage of Lod. 8: 103–136.
3. יוצאי לוב בהתיישבות [Libyans in the settlement [of Israel]] (in Hebrew). World Organization of Libyan Jews. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2011. מושב אזור השפלה בקרבת לוד השייך למועצה אזורית חבל מודיעין בדרומה של לוד ובקרבת העיר רמלה נוסד ביום יח' תמוז תש"י 1950 הוקם ע"י 80 משפחות רובם מיוצאי העיר מסלאטה (לוב)
4. Carta's Official Guide to Israel and Complete Gazetteer to all Sites in the Holy Land. (3rd edition 1993) Jerusalem, Carta, p.73, ISBN 965-220-186-3 (English)