Be’er Sheva (Hebrew: בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע)
Well of the Oath

Be’er Sheva is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the “Capital of the Negev”, it is the center of the fourth most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth most populous Israeli city with a population of 250,000, and the second largest city (after Jerusalem) with a total area of 117,500 dunams.

Beersheba has grown considerably since Israel’s independence. A large portion of the population is made up of the descendants of Sephardi Jews and Mizrahi Jews who immigrated from Arab countries after 1948, as well as smaller communities of Bene Israel and Cochin Jews from India. Second and third waves of immigration have taken place since 1990, bringing Russian-speaking Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union, as well as Beta Israel immigrants from Ethiopia. The Soviet immigrants have made the game of chess a major sport in Beersheba, and it is now Israel’s national chess center, with more chess grandmasters per capita than any other city in the world, making it the chess capital of the world in some regards.

Beersheba is home to Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. This city also serves as a center for Israel’s high-tech and developing technology industry. Beersheba is emerging as a high-tech center, with an emphasis on cyber security. A large high-tech park is being built near the Be’er Sheva North Railway Station. Deutsche Telekom, Elbit Systems, EMC, Lockheed Martin, Ness Technologies, WeWork and RAD Data Communications have already opened facilities there, as has a cyber incubator run by Jerusalem Venture Partners.

If that was great enough, Israel’s first astronaut, Ilan Ramon, who passed away in the Columbia disaster called Be’er Sheva his home.

A few highlights: Keren Cinema and Ispro Planet (Theatres) • The Great Mosque of Beersheva • Carasso Science Park • Hatzerim Israel Airforce Museum • Tel Be’er Sheva National Park • Abraham’s Well • Tel Arad National Park • Monument to the Negev Brigade • Grand Canyon Shopping Mall • Tel Be’er Sheva • Eshkol Park • Negev Museum of Art • Big Be’er Sheva (shopping mall) • Children Park (epic playtime!)

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