Ashkelon
In Biblical times Ashkelon was one of the five most important Philistine cities. Here is where the mighty Samson slew thirty 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 Yirmeyahu, Amos, and Tzefaniah all prophesied the destruction of this city.
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.
