| Urim | |
| Arname: | أوريم |
| Founded: | 6 October 1946 |
| Founded By: | Bulgarian Jews |
| District: | south |
| Council: | Eshkol |
| Affiliation: | Kibbutz Movement |
| Pushpin Map: | Israel northwest negev#Israel |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 250 |
| Pushpin Label Position: | top |
| Coordinates: | 31.3042°N 34.5236°W |
Urim (Hebrew: אוּרִים, lit. Lights) is a kibbutz in the Negev desert in southern Israel. Located near the border of the Gaza Strip and about 30 kilometers west of Beersheba,[1] the kibbutz falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Council. In, it had a population of .
Kibbutz Urim was founded on 6 October 1946 as one of the 11 points in the Negev by a gar'in of young Jews from Bulgaria,[2] later joined by North American members of Habonim.[3] According to Walid Khalidi, Urim was established on land which had belonged to the Palestinian village of Al-Imara. Al-Imara became depopulated in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and Urim was established about 1 km south of the village site.[4]
Kibbutz Urim operated a blanket factory that was devastated by fire in the 1980s.[5] Today Noam Urim manufactures needle-punched nonwoven fabrics.[6] Kibbutz Urim is a co-owner of Ora Field Crops, which is operates together with Kibbutz Kissufim also in the northwestern Negev. The cultivated area is about 27,000 dunam (almost 6,700 acres). Over two-thirds of the fields are irrigated from water sources supplied by water mains with hydraulic valves, communications and automation networks. Autumn crops include potatoes, carrots, radishes, wheat, barley and onions; spring crops include sunflowers, peanuts and corn. The summer crop is table grapes.[7]
Olympic equestrian Daniel Bluman has an equine therapy project in Israel that he operates in conjunction with Kibbutz Urim.[8]
In the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel in 2023, the project was attacked. Bluman said:
This touches very close to home... I am both pro-Israel and pro-Palestine, because I am pro-life, pro-human rights, and unfortunately right now the only way to get to that is by eradicating Hamas and terrorists groups that are fighting religious wars.[9]
Erez Kalderon from Kibbutz Nir Oz, a student in the equine therapy program, was kidnapped by Hamas when the boy was 11 years old, and is held hostage.[8] In December 2023, for the first time since the attack on the program, the program was able to work with children.[10]
. All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948. Walid Khalidi. 1992. Washington D.C.. Institute for Palestine Studies. 0-88728-224-5. 73.