This is a page from the newspaper Davar printed on September 6, 1946 showing photographs of Jewish development in the Negev desert.
The photograph on the top right shows the uninhabited desert, while the others show Kibbutz Dorot and Kibbutz Ruhama, located near the town of Sderot (established five years later). The photographs show newly planted trees, terrace-style farming, a cowshed, and people working the land. These photographs were meant not only to educate people about what was going on in the Negev but also to encourage others to join the challenge of making the desert bloom. Showing the dry, empty desert alongside growing trees and communities provided people with a vision of what was possible and what was becoming a reality.
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Kibbutz Ruhama - Kibbutz Ruhama, the first kibbutz in the Negev, was established in 1911. It was then abandoned but rebuilt a few years before this page was printed. In 1944, Kibbutz Ruhama had a population of about 400 people. Ruhama comes from the Hebrew word meaning mercy or compassion, and the kibbutz was named after the verse from Hosea 2:25: “And I will sow her for me in the land, and I will have compassion upon the unpitied one.” Perhaps this biblical quotation reflected the pioneers’ hope that after farming the desert land, it would have mercy on them by rewarding their efforts.
Kibbutz Dorot - Kibbutz Dorot was also established in the early 1940s in an effort to encourage people to settle and cultivate the desert. The word dorot means generations and was chosen from the hope that settlers would come, put down their roots, and maintain their presence in the desert for generations to come. Dorot is also an acronym for Dov, Rivka, and Tirtza Hoz, who died in a car accident the year before the kibbutz was founded. Dov Hoz was a leader of the Israeli Labour Zionist movement, one of the founders of the Hagana and a pioneer of Israeli aviation. He was killed in a car accident in December 1940 after visiting Hagana prisoners in the British prison in Akko together with his wife (sister of Moshe Sharett, who was to be the second prime minister of Israel) and their daughter.
Eleven Points of the Negev - One month after this page was published, eleven new settlements were founded in the Negev. This was part of the Jewish Agency’s Eleven Points of the Negev programme. The Negev comprises about 60% of Israel, and the Zionist movement and the leadership of Israel believed that settling the Negev was central to Israel’s future. Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, was also deeply committed to the project of “making the desert bloom.” He believed that settlement in the Negev would help provide national security as well as economic independence. His vision included scientific, agricultural, and technological studies that eventually led to the establishment of Ben-Gurion University in Beer Sheva. His kibbutz, Sde Boker, also located in the Negev, remains a testament to his dream.
Today, scientists and researchers at Ben-Gurion University in Beer Sheva work to promote Ben-Gurion’s belief that the future of the country lies in this region. The Jewish National Fund helps to fund communities interested in settling undeveloped areas of the Negev. They plant crops and work together with the IDF and Ben-Gurion University to encourage the growth of technology and the creation of jobs and to support the development of the area.
