Netivot

Netiwot (Hebrew נתיבות, Arabic نيتيفوت, dt: paths, trails ) is a city in southern Israel. It lies in the Besor region. The each 30 km from Ashkelon and Beersheba remote town has 26,200 inhabitants (2008 ).

History

Netiwot was founded as an immigrant town on 10 May 1956 and initially called Azata. It is an example of an Israeli development town. Since its founding, the town suffers from high unemployment, low investment and relative poverty.

The population consists mainly of oriental Jews and immigrants from the former Soviet Union.

Unlike the neighboring developing cities Ofakim and Sderot, the city experienced in recent years a certain upswing. Netiwot has become a place of pilgrimage, as two important contemporary rabbis are buried in the municipal cemetery:

• Baba Sali ( Rabbi Yisrael Abuhatzeira )
• Rabbi Shalom Ifargan

At the annual remembrance hard to the Rabbis hundreds of thousands of religious Jews to come and pray at their graves.

The pilgrimage had importance as in recent years means that the character of the city became increasingly religious, and that dozens were built by religious institutions. A central role in this development was played by the highly revered Rabbi Meir Jissochor (1927-2011), since 1961 Rosh Jeschiwat Hanegew in Netiwot.

The city is situated on the main road from Beersheba to Ashkelon. In Netiwot the road begins to Gaza. By 2013, the village will be connected to the Israeli railway network.

The surrounding area is heavily agricultural.