Dimona
Dimona (Template:Lang-he-n) is an Israeli city in the Negev desert, 36 kilometers to the south of Beersheba and 35 kilometers west of the Dead Sea above the Arava valley in the Southern District of Israel. The name comes from a biblical town (Joshua 15:21-22)
The emblem of Dimona (as a local council), adopted March 2, 1961, appeared on a stamp issued on 24 March 1965.
The Municipality of Dimona was one of the development towns that were created in the 1950s with the leadership of Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion. Dimona itself was conceived 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 like the Dead Sea Works, 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 Israel's Black Hebrew community, governed by its founder and spiritual leader, Ben Ammi Ben-Israel.[1] The Black Hebrews number about 2000 in Dimona, with additional families in Arad, Mitzpe Ramon and the Tiberias area. Their official status in Israel was an ongoing issue for many years, but in May 1990, the issue was resolved with the issuing of first B/1 visas, and a year later, issuing of temporary residency. Status was extended to August 2003, when the Israeli Ministry of Interior granted permanent residency.
Industry
In the early 1980s, textile plants, such as Dimona Textiles Ltd., which at one point concentrated on manufacturing of towelling, dominated the industrial landscape. Many plants have since closed. These factories are not to be confused with the The Dimona Centre, or Negev Nuclear Research Center, which were called "textiles factory" by David Ben-Gurion. Dimona Silica Industries Ltd. manufactures precipitated silica and calcium carbonate fillers.
Transportation
In the early 1950s, a north-south railway line was constructed, connecting Beersheba and Dimona with the center and north of Israel.
Sister cities
Andernach, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany (1975)
External links
- The African Hebrew Israelites: New black civilisation in the promised land" article written by Lester Holloway, January 1, 2004, for Black Information Link
