Ora, Israel

Ora אוֹרָה
Ora in 2007.
Ora
Coordinates: 31°45′15.12″N 35°9′13.32″E / 31.7542000°N 35.1537000°E / 31.7542000; 35.1537000Coordinates: 31°45′15.12″N 35°9′13.32″E / 31.7542000°N 35.1537000°E / 31.7542000; 35.1537000
Council	Mateh Yehuda
Region	Jerusalem corridor
Affiliation	Moshavim Movement
Founded	1950
Founded by	Yemenite Jews
Population (2012)	1,229[1]

Ora (Hebrew: אוֹרָה, lit. Radiance) is a moshav in central Israel. Located southwest of Jerusalem, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In 2012, Ora had a population of 1,229.^[1]

History

In 1953, Percy Newman, a British industrialist, donated the money for the purchase of 3,000 dunams of land on the outskirts of Jerusalem.^[2] Jewish immigrants from Yemen were settled there and given tracts of land allocated for poultry farming. The residents lived in tents, without running water or electricity, until 1957. Before the establishment of Kiryat HaYovel, the closest neighborhood was Bayit Vegan, which was reached on foot or by donkey.^[3] Conditions were so difficult that by 1954, only 13 families remained. They were later joined by immigrants from North Africa.^[2]

In the 1990s, after the wave of Russian aliyah to Israel, the moshav increased egg production from 300 million to 500 million eggs a year.^[3]

References