html> Kenny Sahr! The Negev!

What is the Negev?
The Negev is located in southern Israel - from north of Beersheva to Eilat on the Red Sea. The Negev comprises 60% of Israel's land and only 8% of the population! Though it is a desert, there are many green fields and even agriculture throughout the Negev.

What cities are in the Negev?
Beersheva is the largest city in the Negev with over 200,000 residents. Eilat and Arad are two other cities which many of you have probably heard of. Eilat is a fun resort town and is as far as one can get from the center of Israel. Arad is about 30 minutes northeast of Beersheva and is also close to the Dead Sea and Masada. Other cities include Sderot, Netivot, Yerucham and Dimona (20 minutes south of Beersheva). Sde Boker is a well known kibbutz in the Negev (thanks to Ben Gurion!) and Mitzpe Ramon is a small town.

Why live in the Negev?
Zionism! As only 8% of Israelis live in this huge piece of land, this is the last empty space under Jewish sovereignty. Israel's frontier! If you want to have a small impact on the State of Israel, this is the place.

Another reason to live in the Negev is quality of life. Besides Beersheva, every city and town in the Negev has a relatively small population (under 100,000 residents). A rule of thumb - the further you are from Israel's center, the less expensive the housing will be. Renting an apartment in Eilat, Arad, a kibbutz or moshav will be a lot cheaper than in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem.

What about transportation?
If you don't have a car, there are frequent buses from Beersheva to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa. There is a new highway that goes around Beersheva - saving 20 minutes of driving through the city. The Trans-Israel Highway ("Road 6") ends just north of Beersheva and will one day go past Beersheva to other Negev towns. This highway is connecting the Negev to the center of the country and allows Israelis to live in the south and work in the center. Israel's train system goes as far south as Dimona.

What else is going on in the Negev?
The Israeli government and the Israel Defence Forces have begun building Ir Ha-Bahadim ("The City of Army Training"). The idea is to locate all of the IDF's training bases into one large complex. Today, they are scattered throughout the country and most of them were built during the British Mandate or in the early days of the state. Only 30 minutes south of Beersheva, Ir Ha-Bahadim will increase the Negev's population and will improve the Negev's infrastructure. Plans include a train station with regular transportation to Beersheva.

The Russian aliyah of the 90's significantly increased the population of the Negev. You'll hear more Russian than English throughout the Negev! French immigrants are buying houses in Eilat (which is full of tourists these days).

Or Movement is doing lots to encourage growth in the Negev. They're bringing Israelis and olim to new and existing towns and settlements, renovating the Old City of Beersheva and encouraging investment throughout the Negev and Galilee.

Ok, now tell me the part my aliyah representative isn't telling me.
Every silver lining has a touch of grey. (10 points if you know who sang that!) Eilat has its share of issues. As the most remote city in Israel, anyone wanting to disappear for a while heads down to Eilat. In fact, the mayor of Eilat has complained to the courts that judges often send defendants and other "bad elements" to Eilat. During the summer, Eilat is full of young Israelis - most of whom come to have a fun time and not bother anyone.

And then there are the development towns. Sderot, Netivot, Dimona and others were founded in the 1950's to expand the population of Israel's periphery and ease the pressure on Tel Aviv and the center of the country. Israel's population grew exponentially in its first years. Today these towns are still struggling to build an economic base. They're not nearly as crime-ridden and dangerous as their American and European counterparts but its not kibbutz life either. Unemployment is usually higher than in the rest of Israel and social workers have their hands full. Intel and other hi-tech companies have opened research & development parks in the northern Negev and this is slowly improving things.

What other aliyah tips do you have?
I live in Israel since 1988 and have seen many olim (immigrants) from English speaking countries come and go. Of all the groups that come to Israel, it seems to be only Americans (and I am one!) who are capable of living in Israel for years without learning Hebrew. Even before the hi-tech wave of the 90's, most Israelis spoke English.

Learning Hebrew is your key to becoming Israeli. Communicating with Israelis - your new friends - in Hebrew is so important. Being able to listen to the radio, read the newspaper and enjoy the culture on its own turf connects you in ways you can't quantify. Friends who live in Israel for over 3 years and don't know Hebrew are prime candidates to eventually leave. It takes a lot of effort to live here 3-5 years and not know more than 100 words of Hebrew, but American olim do it like no others.

Since 2004, Israel's economy is booming. The one story the media is missing is the increased wealth in Israel. There's not much you can't get here these days. When I moved here in the late 80's, we were lucky to have M&M's. Today, malls are filled with first class fashion labels and you won't meet too many people without a computer, high speed Internet and at least one cellphone.

But not every job will do the job! Teaching is a good example. The education system is in bad need of reform. Teachers' colleges accept every candidate and as a result, teaching has become the "default option" for Israelis with no other options. The joke here is that men without much to do join the police and women become teachers. Its not nice, but there's something to it. You can't support a household - even a single person one - on a teacher's salary. I've seen friends come here and ignore that last part. Idealism is wonderful, but it won't pay the bills.

Another typical issue Americans and English speakers face is living in places surrounded by other English speakers. You can spend your entire life in Raanana, the Rehavia neighborhood of Jerusalem and in Tel Aviv and surround yourself with American friends. Five years later, you don't speak Hebrew, don't connect well with Israelis and you're on a flight back to California, Florida or New York. When I moved here, I was a teenager, so learning the language and integrating myself was a lot easier than it would have been in my 30's. But that's no excuse for those of you planning to move here after age 18!

I'm glad I didn't live in one of the "American ghettos" in Israel for my first years. When I finally did live in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, I had been in Israel for over 10 years. I can't tell you how many Americans I saw come and go during that period. We all had a great time - but only a few Americans that I knew then are still here. They're the ones who learned Hebrew, have more Israeli friends than American friends and were realistic about how to find a job.

Americans come to Israel full of idealism - I still have it, otherwise I wouldn't be here. But idealism and naivety are two different things.

Now to our Negev story!

We live in the Negev since 2003 - we spent some time on Kibbutz Ruhama - the first modern Jewish settlement in the Negev (founded in 1911) in the northern Negev and now live in Eilat, the southernmost city in Israel and the most fun city in the Negev. Here are some cool places I've found in the Negev..


Ashalim is a small village not far south of Beer Sheva. We were in the area and needed a place to stay for the night and we found "The Sculpture Garden" and gave it a try. Wow! The nicest guesthouse ("bed and breakfast") I've ever seen. The owner, Margalit, is an artist who specializes in sculpturing. Our room (bedroom + family room and bathroom) was in the middle of her scupture gallery. One family per night can stay there -- so you get personal attention and have the opportunity to spend time with this amazing woman. As soon as we got there, we were invited to a gorgeous room with art everywhere and were served delicious tea. We sat and chatted for over an hour.

The interior design of the guesthouse was out of this world - from candles to the furniture to the ornaments on the walls. When we woke up, we were treated to a delicious breakfast. After breakfast, we went on a tour of the art gallery. Margalit answered our questions and there's no way not to be impressed with her work. We said goodbye and headed on our way. We'll never forget the night we spent in Ashalim! Above is a QuickTime VR of The Sculpture Garden. There's a panorama photo version of it here.






In the 1950's, David Ben-Gurion visited Sde Boker in the Negev and soon afterwards moved there with his wife Paula. He knew then that Israel's challenge was and is to settle and grow the Negev - making Israel's desert bloom. Today Sde Boker is a community -- a village, a field school, a tourist attraction and much more. There are dozens of hiking and driving trails in the area. We did the well known Ein Ovdat hike - a short walk and you're at a spring which you'd never guess was there. The top photo (and QuickTime VR) is one many gorgeous views from Sde Boker.

David Ben-Gurion and his wife Paula are buried in Sde Boker at a location overlooking a breathtaking panorama. When I was on a few high school programs in the late-80's, we visited Sde Boker. We visited Sde Boker on our own in the 90's. During my visit in 2005, I couldn't help but notice how the place had grown and developed. Everything from the accomodations to the nature reserve office where you buy 23 shekel ($5) tickets to enter the nature reserve looked new and the people who worked there knew what they were doing. This wasn't the "let's see how we'll do things" Israel of the 80's yet everyone was polite and helpful -- when we checked-in, the person behind the front desk told us we should go speak to a guide who would help us plan our hike. We did and I appreciated the 5 minutes of his time. I'm pretty sure the animal in the photo is an Ibex - they can be seen all over Sde Boker!

Our room had a view we'd never had before and next time we visit we know of at least two more trails we want to try!




45 minutes southwest of Beersheva is an area of a few small villages called "Pitchat Nitzana" -- "The Nitzana Region". 100 families live there and they're looking to grow. A group of 10 families are looking to build a new village, Beer Milca, on a sand dune with a 360 degree view of the Negev and into Egypt's Sinai Desert. While they wait to move into their homes (ain't easy to start a village!), they live in Kmahim, a desert village of 25 or so families. We visited and inquired about it - I've always dreamed of joining a "garin" - a small group of people who found a town or village in Israel. There are two QuickTime panoramas above and large panorama photos here and here. Who knows, maybe we'll be there sometime in 2006!

I have lots of respect for those who move to Israel's periphery with dreams and goals to build something from nothing.



Nitzana is a youth village in the Negev that was founded in 1987. My high school program visited Nitzana during Passover 1988. A bunch of mobile homes on an almost barren hilltop. We spent a week on this sand dune southwest of Beersheva, minutes from the Egyptian border. My wife and I visited in January 2006. Only a few mobile homes remained - Nitzana matured into a mid-sized campus. The above photo is a view about two kilometers from Nitzana. I wanted to include Nitzana within a desert scape. If you have QuickTime installed, you'll see a bigger 3D panorama that you can move around with your mouse.

If you're interested in Israel, visit my other related pages - Arad Eilat Kibbutz Ruhama The Israel Trail Jerusalem in the Snow

Kenny Sahr