Selections from classical Torah sources
which express the special relationship between
the People of Israel and Eretz Yisrael

ASHKELON

In Biblical times Ashkelon was one of the five most important Philistine cities. Here is where the mighty Samson slew 30 Philistines and used their outfits to pay off the wager which he lost to their countrymen through their trickery. (Shoftim 14:19) The city's prominence as a stronghold of anti-Israel feeling is evident from King David's eulogy on Saul who was slain in battle by the Philistines: "Publicize it not in the streets of Ashkelon lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice." (Shmuel II 1:20) The Prophets Yirmiyahu (47:6), Amos (1:8) and Tzefania (2:4) all prophesied the destruction of this perpetual thorn in the side of the Jewish community in Eretz Yisrael.

The word scallion is derived from the Latin name Ascalonia given to a kind of onion extensively cultivated at Ashkelon.

Modern Ashkelon, established in 1953 by the Jewish South African development company Afridar, is a major development town in the South which still contains many relics of its colorful past.