BEERSHEBA 82 - SOUVENIR SHEET

 Beersheba (Be'er Sheva) is mentioned in the Bible as the place where Abraham made a covenant with Abimelech, king of Philistia, following a dispute between their servants over the rights to a well in the area: "And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them to Abimelech, and they two made a covenant.... Wherefore that place was called Be'er Sheva, because there they swore, both of them.... and Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Be'er Sheva and called there on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God." (Genesis 21:27-33)

The planting of the tamarisk tree marks the transition from the life of a nomad to that of a tiller of the soil, living permanently in the shade of the tamarisk, while calling upon the Lord as "God Everlasting" marks Beersheba as the cradle of monotheism.

Beersheba was blessed with a supply of permanent wells; was situated at an important cross-road and was strategically important even in ancient times. During biblical times Beersheba was the southernmost point of the Land of Israel, marking the limit of the cultivated area beyond which were to be found only nomadic tribes.

The beginnings of modern Beersheba date back to the end of the nineteenth century when the Turkish authorities set up an administrative center on the site of the water wells. They built the town's first four buildings -government house, a mosque, a regional school, and the governor's residence. Among the first settlers of Beersheba were a number of Jews who were particularly active in commerce and a Jewish mukhtar (leader) was appointed alongside the Moslem and Christian mukhtars.

In 1906 two Jewish families set up a flour mill in the town, the first mill in the desert apart from those in Gaza and Hebron. Within a short time, the site became the center of activity for the local Jewish community and a synagogue and mikveh (Jewish ritual bath) were built to serve the 100 Jews living in the town.

During World War I, Beersheba was an important military center. The Jewish community was reinforced by the Jewish soldiers stationed there and by laborers and craftsmen brought in to carry out vital construction projects, such as the Turkish bridge over the Beersheba wadi and the railway bridges along the Sinai railway line.

The 1929 disturbances put an end to the Jewish community of Beersheba, and apart from one or two government clerks, not a Jew was to be found in the town until its liberation in the War of Independence.

With the establishment of the Jewish State in 1948, Beersheba was designated the capital of the south, the base from which the bare desert would be converted into a flourishing area.

One thing above all typifies Beersheba - its status as an immigrant town. The first immigrants to arrive were the refugees from the Cyprus detention camps, in 1949. They came to a deserted town and settled down alongside the demobilized soldiers who had chosen to set up home there.

In February 1950 the Military Governor transferred responsibility for the town to a town council and in the same year immigrants from the four corners of the earth began to reach Beersheba. In the beginning, they were housed in transit camps - in tents and shacks which were at the mercy of sandstorms and burning desert winds. Gradually houses were constructed, workshops and factories established, and an educational and cultural infrastructure created, as each succeeding wave of immigration was absorbed with the help of its predecessors.

Today, Beersheba has an estimated population of 156,500 (1996) and the town serves as an economic center for the Dead Sea Works of Sedom, the chemical plants of Rotem, the modern chemical complex of Ramat Hovev and the atomic energy research center near Dimonah. The educational infrastructure ranges from kindergartens for three-year olds, through elementary, vocational, secondary, and technical schools, to a teachers' training college and a school of physical education. The town boasts a University Hospital and Medical School and above all, the Ben-Gurion University. The links between Beersheba and its surrounding development towns are very close and the settlers of the Negev enjoy cultural events such as the theater, music, and art. Above all, Beersheba continues to play a leading role in absorbing new immigrants and integrating the varied communities.