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 missileattacks from Gaza. In 2012, a rocket exploded near a school in the city.[4]
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
Ethiopian cultural center in Netivot
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
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.
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 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
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
Architecture in Netivot
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
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]
^Bitan, Hanna: 1948–1998: Fifty Years of 'Hityashvut': Atlas of Names of Settlements in Israel, Jerusalem 1999, Carta, p.51, ISBN965-220-423-4(in Hebrew)
