Lahav

Lahav is a kibbutz in southern Israel, located about 20 kilometres north of Beersheba within the jurisdiction of the Bnei Shimon Regional Council. The community occupies approximately 33,000 dunams and had a population of 693 in 2024. Unlike a conventional consumer brand, Lahav is a communal settlement whose name is also associated with agricultural, industrial, research, and food-processing activities carried out by the kibbutz and related ventures. The settlement was established in 1952 under the name Tziklag, a reference to the biblical city of Ziklag, which was believed by the founders to have been located in the surrounding area. The founding group had initially considered settling in either the Negev or the Galilee. A government decision ultimately directed the group to Tel Halif, also known as Tell el-Khuweilifeh, in the Negev. The community was later renamed Lahav in recognition of the Nahal group responsible for establishing it. Lahav’s economic base includes crop cultivation, livestock, and industrial activities. Its industrial interests include a plastic-container operation run jointly with neighbouring Kibbutz Dvir and a meat-processing plant. The plastic-container business is associated with Dolav, while the meat-processing activity supplies non-kosher meat products to the Israeli market. Lahav products are marketed primarily within Israel rather than as a globally distributed consumer brand. A distinctive part of the kibbutz’s economic and institutional history is the Institute for Animal Research, established in 1963 with guidance from scientists affiliated with the Hebrew University’s Faculty of Agriculture. The institute specializes in pig raising and is described as Israel’s only research facility focused on that field. Israeli law adopted in 1963 restricted pig raising to kibbutzim, or comparable state-leased land, when conducted for research purposes. Lahav maintained pig production by transferring the activity to the research institute; surplus animals could be sold and supplied the kibbutz’s meat-processing operation. This arrangement made Lahav a notable participant in Israel’s non-kosher meat sector, where its products compete with offerings from Mizra. The area around Lahav also has substantial archaeological importance. Tel Halif preserves occupation evidence from the Chalcolithic period through later historical eras, including Early Bronze Age remains and a structure associated with Egypt’s New Kingdom. Excavations in the nearby Nahal Tillah area uncovered early Egyptian-related architectural and ceramic material, including a clay seal impression and a sherd bearing the serekh symbol of King Narmer. South of the kibbutz, Horvat Rimmon preserves the remains of a late antique Jewish settlement with a multi-phase synagogue complex, rock-cut installations, burial features, underground hiding complexes, and finds linked to the Bar Kokhba revolt. These archaeological sites form part of Lahav’s wider local identity, although they are not commercial products of the kibbutz.

Lahav was founded in 1952 in the northern Negev, on or near Tel Halif, an area with a long archaeological record. The settlement was initially called Tziklag, after the biblical Ziklag. The name reflected the founders’ belief that the ancient site was located nearby. Before establishment, the founding group had debated whether to settle in the Negev or the Galilee. A government decision gave priority to establishing a settlement at Tel Halif, and the group accepted the assignment. After several years, the kibbutz adopted the name Lahav. The new name commemorated the Nahal group that established the settlement. Lahav subsequently developed as a communal agricultural settlement, with its economy built around crops and livestock. Over time, it expanded beyond primary agriculture into manufacturing, meat processing, and animal research. In 1963, Lahav established the Institute for Animal Research with scientific guidance from leading researchers connected to the Hebrew University’s Faculty of Agriculture. The institute became a specialized centre for pig research and is described as the only Israeli research facility devoted to raising pigs. Its creation was particularly significant because Israeli legislation passed in the same year limited pig raising to research purposes in kibbutzim or on land leased from the state. Other kibbutzim discontinued pig farming in response to the law, while Lahav reorganized the activity under the institute. Surplus animals could be sold, allowing the institute to supply the kibbutz’s meat-processing operation. The meat business developed into an important part of Lahav’s economic profile. Processed pork and other meat products were distributed through non-kosher food shops across Israel, and Lahav became a significant domestic competitor to Mizra in this segment. The activity also gave the kibbutz an unusual place in Israeli agriculture and food production, where non-kosher meat occupies a specialized market. Lahav’s industrial portfolio also includes plastic-container manufacturing. The operation associated with Dolav is jointly owned and operated with neighbouring Kibbutz Dvir. This partnership broadened Lahav’s economic base beyond farming and food production and connected the kibbutz to industrial packaging markets. The physical setting has remained central to Lahav’s identity. Tel Halif, also known as Tell el-Khuweilifeh, contains evidence of occupation from Chalcolithic times, Early Bronze Age phases, the Late Bronze Age, Iron Age II, and the Persian period. Excavations in the Nahal Tillah area produced early Egyptian-related remains, including buildings, pottery, a clay seal impression, and a fragment carrying the serekh associated with King Narmer. Nearby Horvat Rimmon, approximately 500 metres south of Lahav, contains remains of a late antique Jewish village. Archaeological investigations there have documented a synagogue complex dating from the third to seventh centuries CE, rock-cut tombs and installations, underground hiding complexes, finds connected with the Bar Kokhba revolt, and an Aramaic-inscribed ceramic amulet. Lahav remains an active kibbutz and a jurisdictionally recognized community of the Bnei Shimon Regional Council. Its contemporary profile combines communal settlement, farming, industrial production, animal-research activity, and domestic food manufacturing. The available reference material does not identify a separate corporate management team, public listing, or international commercial expansion under the Lahav name.

• 2024

  Population recorded at 693

  [1]Lahaven.wikipedia.org

  Lahav’s reported population reached 693.

• 1963

  Institute for Animal Research established

  [1]Lahaven.wikipedia.org

  Lahav established an animal-research institute with guidance from scientists associated with the Hebrew University’s Faculty of Agriculture.

• 1963

  Israeli pig-raising restrictions adopted

  [1]Lahaven.wikipedia.org

  A law limited pig raising to research-related activity in kibbutzim or on qualifying state-leased land, shaping Lahav’s subsequent organization of pig production.

• 1952

  Settlement established as Tziklag

  [1]Lahaven.wikipedia.org

  The kibbutz was established at Tel Halif in the Negev and was initially named Tziklag after the biblical city of Ziklag.

• Renamed Lahav

  [1]Lahaven.wikipedia.org

  The settlement later adopted the name Lahav in honour of the Nahal group that established it.

A southern Israeli kibbutz with a diversified communal economy spanning agriculture, livestock, animal research, plastic-container manufacturing, and domestically marketed meat processing.

• Agriculture

  Agricultural crops

  Crop cultivation is one of the foundational activities of Kibbutz Lahav. The available sources identify agriculture as part of the kibbutz economy but do not specify the individual crops, acreage allocations, or production volumes.

• Agriculture and animal husbandry

  Livestock

  Lahav maintains livestock activity as part of its diversified agricultural economy. The sources do not provide a complete inventory of livestock species or detailed production figures beyond the separately documented pig-research operation.

• Industrial packaging

  Dolav plastic containers

  Lahav participates in a plastic-container manufacturing venture associated with Dolav. The operation is jointly owned and operated with neighbouring Kibbutz Dvir, making industrial packaging one of the kibbutz’s principal non-agricultural activities.

• Food processing

  Lahav processed meat

  Lahav operates a meat-processing business whose products include pork and other non-kosher meat products. These products are marketed through non-kosher food shops across Israel and compete domestically with products from Mizra.

• Animal research and livestock production · 1963

  Institute for Animal Research

  Established in 1963, the Institute for Animal Research conducts specialized work involving pig raising and supplies surplus animals to Lahav’s meat-processing activity. It was created with academic guidance and became central to the kibbutz’s ability to continue this activity under Israel’s legal framework.

1. 1Lahaven.wikipedia.org