Moshava with
municipal status, on the coastal plain of Israel, 13 km south of Rehovot.
Gedera was founded in 1884 by members of the
Bilumovement from Russia and was the only veteran mosahava free of Baron
Edmond de Rothschild's support.
Its name is derived from the neighboring Arab village
Quatra, which most scholars assume to be identical with the biblical town
of Gedera belonging to the tribe of Judah.
In its early years, grapes and grains constituted the
moshava's principal agricultural branches. Later, citrus orchards and
other field crops were added. In the 1930's, a few industrial enterprises
were developed and number of convalescence houses and sanatoria were
built.
In the early 1990's, Gedera attained a population of
some 6,500. The moshava's principal economic branches are: agriculture,
industry, commerce and holiday accomodation.
