Netivot
Netivot
נְתִיבוֹת نتيڤوت | |
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     | |
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  Netivot  Netivot | |
| Coordinates: 31°25′N 34°35′E / 31.417°N 34.583°E | |
| Country |  Israel |
| District | Southern |
| Founded | 1956 |
| City Status | 1996 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Yehiel Zohar |
| Area | |
• Total | 5,626 dunams (5.626 km2 or 2.172 sq mi) |
| Population (2023)[1] | |
• Total | 46,374 |
| • Density | 8,200/km2 (21,000/sq mi) |
| Ethnicity | |
| • Jews and others | 99.9% |
| • Arabs | 0.1% |
| Name meaning | Paths |
Netivot (Hebrew: נְתִיבוֹת, "paths", Arabic: نتيڤوت) is a city in the Southern District of Israel located between Beersheba and Gaza. In 2022, it had a population of 46,374.[1]
History
[edit]
Netivot was founded in 1956 [1] and named after the biblical verse: "All her paths are peace" (Proverbs 3:17).[2] Initially a ma'abara, it was later transformed into a development town. The first residents were immigrants from Morocco and Tunisia. In the 1990s, they were joined by immigrants from Russia and Ethiopia. For many years, Netivot suffered from high unemployment.[3] Since 2008, Netivot has been the target of Grad missile attacks from Gaza. In 2012, a rocket exploded near a school in the city.[4]
A major landmark is the tomb of the Baba Sali (1889–1984), a Moroccan-born kabbalist who is buried there.[5]
During the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, in which more than 1,200 Israelis were killed by Hamas, most of them civilians,[6][7][8] the city was the target of several rocket attacks, including a rocket directly hitting a house and killing three citizens.[9] A journalist investigation broadcast 11 months after the attack claims that Hamas had planned to send many militants to infiltrate Netivot, but then changed its mind and turned back their militants to commit the massacre at the Nova music festival in Re'im.[10] In the war that followed the attack, Hamas fired approximately 50 rockets towards Netivot on January 16, 2024, with one falling inside the city, hitting a store.[11]
Demographics
[edit]
In 2001, the ethnic make-up of the city was 99.9% Jewish, with no significant Palestinian population, and the population was evenly divided between males and females. The city ranked relatively low in the socio-economic index (3 out of 10).[12] In the wake of Operation Solomon, Netivot absorbed a large number of Ethiopian Jewish immigrants.[13]
By the end of 2009, Netivot had a population of 26,700.[14]
Education
[edit]According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, there were 22 schools and 4,243 students in the city: 16 elementary schools with 3,053 students, and 11 high schools with 1,190 students. 43.1% of 12th grade students were entitled to a Bagrut matriculation certificate in 2001.
In 2009, a high school student from Netivot won first prize in the First Step to Nobel Prize in Physics competition.[15]
Netivot schools have been chosen for a special pilot project in which elementary school children build their own mini-robots. In 2011, Netivot hosted a robotics festival sponsored by the international organization FIRST - For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.[16] First-, second,- and third-graders at the Noam Eliyahu religious school in Netivot spend eight hours a week studying science and robotics at Lehava, the municipal science center.[17]
The Mandel Center for Leadership in the Negev (MCLN) runs a two-year community-based leadership program in Netivot.[18]
Netivot hosts the Yeshivat HaNegev, "the Yeshiva of the Negev", a Haredi institution headed as of October 2024[update] by Rabbi Aryeh Leib Levi,[19] with approximately 200 students. It was founded in 1966 by Rabbi Issachar Meir, and was renamed Yeshivat Hanegev Shachar Shakir after him on his death.
The city is also home to the Religious Zionist Hesder Yeshiva of Netivot, "Ahavat Yisrael". [20] It was founded in 2000 by Rabbi Yisrael Friedman and is today headed by Rabbi David Asulin with approximately 50 students.
Transportation
[edit]
Netivot is accessible by Highway 34, Highway 25 and Route 232.
The Ashkelon–Beersheba railway, a new railway line which connected Netivot with Tel Aviv and Beersheba, was inaugurated in February 2015. The Netivot railway station located on the western outskirts of the city, was opened on February 15, 2015.[21] A bus terminal is located adjacent to the station.
Local culture
[edit]Netivot is known for being the home of Jewish mystics and as a popular pilgrimage site. The growth of mysticism and sacred sites in Netivot led to it being dubbed the "Varanasi of Israel". The most prominent rabbis in Netivot include Baruch Abuhateizra, Yaakov Israel Ifergan and Yoram Abergel.[22] On the anniversary of the Baba Sali's death, thousands of pilgrims come to Netivot to visit his tomb.[23]
Eleven local newspapers are published in the city.[24]
Three successful nightclubs have opened in Netivot which also draw clientele from out of town, attracting young people from Ashkelon, Beersheba, Omer, Lehavim, Ofakim, and Sderot.[25]
Development plans
[edit]
In 2019, two new neighborhoods with a total of 3,600 housing units planned for Netivot were expected to double the city's population.[26] Two large supermarkets were also planned which would bring the total to 9.[27]
Industry
[edit]There are 24 plants and factories located in a nearby industrial park, mostly in food processing, metals, plastics, and construction sectors.[28] There are an additional 15 factories located in the city in some of the same sectors as above, and also chemical and mineral sectors.[29]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "Regional Statistics". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ Bitan, Hanna: 1948–1998: Fifty Years of 'Hityashvut': Atlas of Names of Settlements in Israel, Jerusalem 1999, Carta, p.51, ISBN 965-220-423-4 (in Hebrew)
- ^ Greenberg, Joel (30 September 1997). "Netivot Journal; In Spirit of Atonement, an Apology to Sephardim". The New York Times. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
- ^ Lappin, Yaakov (March 16, 2012). "Rocket explodes near school in Netivot". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
- ^ "Negev town of Netivot transforms into South's nightlife hotspot". Haaretz. 2008-10-17. Retrieved 2008-10-20.
- ^ "Latest Death Toll in Israel and Gaza". WSJ. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
- ^ "More than 100 civilians were massacred at Kfar Aza kibbutz in Hamas attacks, Israeli soldiers say". France 24. 2023-10-10. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
- ^ "After blast kills hundreds at Gaza hospital, Hamas and Israel trade blame as rage spreads in region". AP News. 2023-10-17. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
- ^ "In Netivot, poverty compounds the problems of a battered border city". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
- ^ "Report shows IDF's silence on fears ahead of Nova, failure to react as massacre unfolded". The Times of Israel. September 8, 2024.
- ^ Fabian, Emanuel (16 January 2024). "50 rockets fired at south Israel, largest barrage in weeks; 2 more soldiers killed". The Times of Israel.
- ^ "Local Councils and Municipalities, by Economic-Socio Index, Ranking and Cluster Membership" (PDF). Central Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ Netivot commemorates 20 years to Operation Solomon Archived 2013-10-03 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Ronen, Gil (April 4, 2013). "Bennett – We Don't Bow Our Heads before Turks". Arutz Sheva. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
- ^ "Kiryat Gat Teen Wins First Prize in International Physics Competition". Haaretz. 20 September 2012.
- ^ "Robots Enliven Negev Desert Community". Haaretz. 15 November 2018.
- ^ "Robots Enliven Negev Desert Community". Haaretz. 15 November 2018.
- ^ Tomorrow’s Leaders of Today’s Negev Archived 2013-01-23 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Yeshivat Hanegev - Sehar Sahir". Olam Hatorah. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
- ^ yhn.co.il
- ^ "מיום ראשון הקרוב - מסילת הרכבת מתחברת לעיר נתיבות" [From Sunday - A railway line will connect to Netivot]. Calcalist (in Hebrew). 2015-02-12. Retrieved 2019-03-11.
- ^ The Making of Saints: Contesting Sacred Ground. James F Hopgood (ed.) p.38
- ^ "Baba Sali". Go Israel. Archived from the original on 25 December 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
- ^ Yagna, Yanir (June 1, 2012). "In Israeli Desert Town, Print Newspapers Are All the Rage". Haaretz. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
- ^ "Negev Town of Netivot Transforms Into South's Nightlife Hotspot". Haaretz. October 16, 2008. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
- ^ Tsion, Hila (September 8, 2012). "South gets 4,100 new housing units". YNet News. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
- ^ Yagna, Yanir (2012-08-17). "Supersized supermarkets invade tiny Israeli desert town of Netivot Israel News". Haaretz. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
- ^ "תעשיות הפארק" (in Hebrew). פארק תעשיות בע"מ. Archived from the original on 9 September 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ "תעשייה ופיתוח בנתיבות" (in Hebrew). עיריית נתיבות. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Netivot at Wikimedia Commons
- Netivot profile, Nefesh B'nefesh
- Official website (in Hebrew)
