Dimona
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| Dimona | |
| Hebrew | דימונה |
| Arabic | ديمونة |
| Founded in | 1955 |
| Government | City |
| District | South |
| Population | 33 900 |
| Jurisdiction | 6 000 dunams (6 km²) |
Dimona is an Israeli city in the Negev desert, 36 kilometers to the south of Beer-Sheva and 35 kilometers west of the Dead Sea in the Southern District of Israel.
Dimona was one of the developement towns that were created in the 1950s with the leadership of David Ben-Gurion. Dimona itself was concieved in 1953, and settled in 1955, mostly by new immigrants from Northern Africa, who also constructed the city's houses. When the Israeli nuclear program started later that decade, a location not so far from the city was chosen for the Negev Nuclear Research Center due to its relative isolation in the desert and availability of housing.
In spite of a gradual decrease during the 1980s, the city's population began to grow once again with the beginning of the Russian immigration in the 1990s. Currently, Dimona is the third largest city in the Negev, with the population of 31,200 (1995 estimate). About a third of the city's population works in industrial workplaces (chemical plants near the Dead Sea, high-tech companies and textile shops), and another third in the area of services. Due to the introduction of new technologies, many workers have been made redundant in the recent years, creating a total unemployment rate of about 10%.
Dimona is home to nearly 3,000 Black Hebrews, a small spirtual community that lives according to laws of the Holy One of Israel (the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob). The community has been described by its many visitors as "The Miracle in the Desert,", "The Island of Sanity," and Kefar HaShalom, which is Hebrew for "The Village of Peace." The community is governed by its founder and spirtual leader His Excellency Ben Ammi Ben Israel. Ben Ammi returned the group back to its place of origin in the year 1969 from the ghettos of Black America. The community, now thriving, is being studied by the Israeli Government and other African nations for its spirtual benefits and great accomplishments in the areas of health and wellness.
[edit] Sister cities
- Andernach, Germany, since 1975: first Israeli-German sister cities
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| Cities | Arad · Ashdod · Ashkelon · Beersheba · Dimona · Eilat · Kiryat Gat · Kiryat Mal'akhi · Netivot · Ofakim · Rahat · Sderot |  |
| Local councils | Ar'ara BaNegev · Hura · Kuseife · Lakiya · Lehavim · Meitar · Mitzpe Ramon · Omer · Segev Shalom · Tel Sheva · Yeruham | |
| Regional councils | Abu Basma · Beer Tuvia · Bnei Shimon · Central Arava · Eshkol · Hevel Eilot · Hof Ashkelon · Lachish · Merchavim · Ramat Negev · Sdot Negev (Azata) · Shaar HaNegev · Shafir · Tamar · Yoav | |
