| Geshur | |
| Imgsize: | 150 |
| Foundation: | 1971 |
| Founded By: | Hashomer Hatzair members |
| Region: | Golan Heights |
| Country: | Israel |
| District: | north |
| Council: | Golan |
| Affiliation: | Kibbutz Movement |
| Pushpin Map: | Syria Golan#Israel Golan |
| Pushpin Label Position: | right |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 250 |
| Coordinates: | 32.8194°N 35.7156°W |
Geshur (Hebrew: גְּשׁוּר, lit. Bridging) is an Israeli settlement organized as a kibbutz on the ridge of the southern Golan Heights.[1] [2] The international community considers Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.[3] In it had a population of .
The kibbutz is named after a biblical kingdom[4] which may or may not have been in the same area.
According to the Bible, during the time of King David, Geshur was an independent kingdom (13:13 ). David married Maachah, a daughter of Talmai, King of Geshur. (Samuel 3:3, Chronicles 3:2) Her son Absalom fled to his mother's native country, after the murder of his half-brother and David's eldest son, Amnon. Absalom stayed there for three years before being rehabilitated by David. (ib. 13:37, 15:8) Geshur managed to maintain its independence from the Aramean kingdoms until after the time of King Solomon.[5] [6]
Kibbutz Geshur was founded in 1971 by Hashomer Hatzair, a socialist-Zionist youth movement,[7] The village was established to the south of the Syrian village of Al-Adaisa, which was depopulated and razed, after being occupied by Israel in 1967. The first Golan Heights vineyards were planted in Geshur in 1976.[8]