 Alon Shvut, literally, "oak of return", is a reference to the return of the Jews expelled from Gush Etzion by the Jordanian Arab Legion in 1948 following the Kfar Etzion massacre.The 700-year-old Kermes Oak (Quercus calliprinos) is sacred to the Arabs with the name "Ballutet el Yerzeh" (oak of Yerzeh).It was a central feature of Gush Etzion and became known as "lone oak".