Ometz, Israel

Ometz אֹמֶץ, אומץ
Ometz
Coordinates: 32°22′10.2″N 34°59′38.03″E / 32.369500°N 34.9938972°E / 32.369500; 34.9938972Coordinates: 32°22′10.2″N 34°59′38.03″E / 32.369500°N 34.9938972°E / 32.369500; 34.9938972
Council	Hefer Valley
Region	Coastal plain
Affiliation	Moshavim Movement
Founded	1949
Founded by	Demobbed IDF soldiers
Population (2012)	762[1]

Ometz (Hebrew: אֹמֶץ, lit. Courage) is a moshav in central Israel. Located in the coastal plain near Zemer, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hefer Valley Regional Council.

The moshav was founded in 1949 by demobilised IDF soldiers from the 32nd Battalion of the Alexandroni Brigade. The first border settlement in the Hefer Valley to be founded after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, it was established on land that had previously belonged to the depopulated Arab Palestinian village of Qaqun. There are two theories as to the source of the name; one is that it is from the phrase "Ometz VeGvura" (Courage and Bravery); the second is that is an acronym for Irgun Mishuhrarei Tzahal (Hebrew: ארגון משוחררי צה"ל‎, lit. Organisation of Demobilised IDF [soldiers]).

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