Petahya

Petahya פְּתַחְיָה
Petahya
Coordinates: 31°52′2.63″N 34°53′14.28″E / 31.8673972°N 34.8873000°E / 31.8673972; 34.8873000Coordinates: 31°52′2.63″N 34°53′14.28″E / 31.8673972°N 34.8873000°E / 31.8673972; 34.8873000
Council	Gezer
Region	Shephelah
Affiliation	HaOved HaTzioni
Founded	1951
Founded by	Tunisian immigrants

Petahya (Hebrew: פְּתַחְיָה) is a moshav in central Israel. Located in the Shephelah near Mazkeret Batya, it falls under the jurisdiction of Gezer Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 729.

The moshav was founded in 1951 on the land of the abandoned Arab village of al-Na'ani, whose residents had fled to the Ramallah area, Jerusalem and Jordan during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Initially named Gezer 10, the present name derives from "a personal name in Bible .. (I Chron. 24:16)".^[1] Its founders were immigrants from the Tunisian youth movement HaNoar HaTzioni. They were later joined by immigrants from Algeria and India. Today most of its residents work in vineyards.

References

1. ↑ Carta's Official Guide to Israel and Complete Gazetteer to all Sites in the Holy Land. (3rd edition 1993) Jerusalem, Carta, p.378, ISBN 965-220-186-3 (English)
   Place Names in Israel. A Compendium of Place Names in Israel compiled from various sources. Translated from Hebrew, Jerusalem 1962 (Israel Prime Minister’s Office. The Israeli Program for Scientific Translations) p.223 (Location of the book: Ben Zvi Institute Library, 12 Abarbanel St., Jerusalem; in the online-catalogue: )

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