Mesillat Zion

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MESILLAT ZION

MESILLAT ZION (Heb. מְסִלַּת צִיּוֹן; "Roadway to Zion"), moshav affiliated with Tenu'at ha-Moshavim in the foothills of Judea on the highway leading to Jerusalem, near the entrance to the Sha'ar ha-Gai gorge (the moshav's initial name was Sha'ar ha-Gai). Mesillat Zion was founded in 1950 initially as a "work village" whose inhabitants were employed in land reclamation and in planting the nearby Martyrs' Forest and other woodlands. Its inhabitants originated from Cochin, India. The moshav's economy was based on vineyards, deciduous fruit orchards, poultry, and flowers. In the mid-1990s, the population was approximately 350, increasing to 585 in 2002 after expansion.

[Efraim Orni]

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Mesillat Zion

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