ISRAEL IS MOSTLY : The Negev Desert

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                       

    Only 8% of the Israeli population lives in 60% of Israel's land, the Negev.  The Negev is a large desert region in southern Israel. This is the "dry land" of Israel, extending over an expanse of 5,138 sq. miles, 60% of the total area of the country.  Here's where the annual rainfall is less than 200 mm.  

 • The Negev  stretches from Be'er Sheva to Eilat. That's 60% of the state of Israel left almost untouched.  That's because  70% of Israelis live within the triangle between Haifa, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. This raises the property value so high that young families have trouble finding a place to live. 

The Promised Land for the Jews was suddenly hacked away by the British who held the mandate after WWI.  They gave away 80% to Prince Abdullah of Arabia who wanted to be a king, and he got Transjordan.  The 20% left then was divided between the Palestinian Arabs and the Jews.  I'd say that the Jews got 10% of the promised land, and out of that, the largest part, is the Negev Desert. 

                                               

       Be'er Sheva during biblical times was the southernmost center for administrative, religious, and judicial center and a place of gathering.  It was settled by re-patriated Jews after the return from Babylon.  After the 2nd Temple was destroyed, it became a fortified post against the Nabateans, and a Roman garrison was stationed here.  It was deserted during the Middle Ages and rebuilt by the Turks in 1900.  

Jews lived here until 1929.  In 1948, the all-Arab population of 5,700 abandoned the town and it became the chief Jewish town of the Negev district.  It was connected to the railway system in 1956 and the Mediterranean-Elath oil pipeline in 1956-1957 and another in 1968,  and is the site of the Ben-Gurion University.  A road was built to Sodom and 2 others to Elath.   Population in 1990 was 113,200. Population in 2021 is 644,278.  

  

The Negev's main city is Be’er Sheva. Here, the Old City is home to the Negev Museum of Art, with contemporary Israeli and international exhibitions. Nearby is Abraham’s Well, a cultural center with interactive exhibits about the story of Abraham. 

                                                

         Day tour from Eilat

East of the city, Tel Be’er Sheva is a prehistoric settlement mound with ruins, plus a lookout tower with desert views.

                                                  

Dimona is a city in the Negev.  Viewed here are its apartment blocks. 

It's 19 miles SE of Be'er Sheva.  It's the center for Negev industries and the site of an atomic reactor. 

Dimona was one of the development towns created in the 1950s under the leadership of Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion. Dimona itself was conceived in 1953.  It was established in 1955. The first residents were Jewish immigrants from North Africa, with an initial 36 families being the first to settle there. Its population in 1955 was about 300. The North African immigrants also constructed the city's houses. The population was composed mainly of North African, particularly Moroccan immigrants, though immigrants from Yemen and Eastern Europe also arrived, as did Bene Israel immigrants from India.

Dimona is described as "mini-India" by many for its 7,500-strong Indian Jewish community. 

A group of African Hebrew Israelites in Dimona, Israel

It is also home to Israel's Black Hebrew community, formerly governed by its founder and spiritual leader, Ben Ammi Ben-Israel, now deceased. The Black Hebrews number about 3,000 in Dimona, with additional families in Arad, Mitzpe Ramon and the Tiberias area. Their official status in Israel was an ongoing issue for many years, but in May 1990, the issue was resolved with the issuing of first B/1 visas, and a year later, issuing of temporary residency. Status was extended to August 2003, when the Israeli Ministry of Interior granted permanent residency.  African Hebrew Israelites in Israel, officially known as The African Hebrew Israelite Nation of Jerusalem, is a spiritual group now mainly based in Dimona, Israel, whose members believe they are descended from the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The community now numbers around 5,000. They came from a group of African Americans, many from Chicago, Illinois, who migrated to Israel in the late 1960s. 

Though they are not considered Jews by Israel, it's been quite the situation. Rules had to be bent.   In 2004, Uriyahu Butler became the first member of the community to enlist in the Israel Defense Forces. The IDF agreed to accommodate some of their dietary and other religious requirements.

Today, young men and to a lesser degree women from the African Hebrew community of Jerusalem serve in the IDF, and they have entered international sporting events and academic competitions under the Israeli flag, as well as having represented Israel twice in the Eurovision song contest.

Dimona is also home to the atomic reactor.

The Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center is an Israeli nuclear installation located in the Negev desert, about thirteen kilometers south-east of the city of Dimona. In August 2018, it was renamed after the late President and Prime Minister of Israel, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shimon Peres.  

    Eilat, the great vacation spot in December when its cold in your city. People from around the world come here.  Average October is 92/70; November is 81/60; December is 73/52.  Not bad.  

Eilat's northern beach

Eilat is part of the Southern Negev Desert, at the southern end of the Arabah, adjacent to the Egyptian resort city of Taba to the south, the Jordanian port city of Aqaba to the east, and within sight of Haql, Saudi Arabia, across the gulf to the southeast.  Original name was Elath, and is bound by 4 states;  Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel and Egypt.  The town was built by  Amaziah and his son, Uzziah, but was captured by Rezin, king of Aram, in the reign of Ahaz and became an Edomite city. It was destroyed by the Crusaders in 1116.  The modern Israeli settlement of Elath was founded after its occupation in March 1949.  This is a great tourist attraction.  

During WWI, the British and the Turko-German armies fought over the Negev.  In the 1947 partition plan, it was allotted to the Jewish state but was occupied by the Egyptian in May 1948, except for the areas already settled by Jews.                           

In the War of Independence, the Egyptians were driven out from October 1948 to March 1949, and Elath reached.  Since that time, the northern Negev has been intensively settled, the mines of the central Negev developed, and a port at Elath constructed.  

Resource:

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

https://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/be'er-sheva-population 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incense_Route_%E2%80%93_Desert_Cities_in_the_Negev

https://www.google.com/search?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Hebrew_Israelites_in_Israel

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimon_Peres_Negev_Nuclear_Research_Center

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Israel