EILOT

EILOT (Heb. אֵילוֹת), southernmost kibbutz in Israel, 2½ mi. (4 km.) north of Eilat, affiliated with Ha-Kibbutz ha-Me'uḥad, founded in 1963 by pioneers, the majority of whom were Israeli-born. From 1955, the members of the kibbutz maintained a camp on the Eilat shore, where its members tried fishing in the Red Sea, worked in various trades, and participated in laying the foundations of the new town of Eilat. The kibbutz planted date-palm orchards on the southernmost playa of the Aravah Valley and raises out-of-season vegetables, melons, and flowers. In 2002 its population was 286. The kibbutz continued to grow vegetables and date palms, as well as mangoes, cattle, and grapes. It had a packing house for agriculture products, a transformer factory, and a guesthouse.   About half its members worked outside the kibbutz. In 1994 the peace agreement between Israel and Jordan was signed in the kibbutz fields. (Efraim Orni / Shaked Gilboa (2nd ed.)