300 BC to 700 AD approximately
The Negev functions as a bridge for nomads who travel from the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa to the Mediterranean sea.
1948-1917
During the British Mandate, agricultural areas in the Negev were cultivated by Bedouins.
1947
Establishment of Kibbutz Mashabei Sadeh in the northwest of the area.
1948
On the eve of the Independence War, 70,000 Bedouins lived in the Negev, and in 1951 – 13,000 Bedouins.
July 1949
The end of the Independence War.
1951
Establishment of the “Independence Camp” for workers engaged in paving the road to Eilat (inaugurated in 1958).
August 1953
First activity of members of Kibbutz Sde Boker in the area.
February 1954
Kibbutz Sde Boker acquires “Independence Camp”; The “Even Vasid” gypsum quarry is operated in Ramon Crater.
May 1956
Settlers Cooperative, “The Cooperative Agricultural Association in Mitzpe Ramon” headed by Hagai Avriel (Sde Boker) rises to the ground. The families of the founders join in December.
January 1957
Construction of the Eilat-Ashkelon oil pipeline; Completion of forty housing units in Mitzpe Ramon.
September 1957
Dissolution of the “Cooperative Agricultural Association in Mitzpe Ramon” and its replacement by a municipal authority. The locality becomes a development town that absorbs immigrants from different countries; Construction of a gypsum crematorium in Ramon Crater.
November 1957
Birth of Ramon, the first child in the locality.
1958
Establishment of the industrial area that was later abandoned and became the “perfume road district”, which is now used as a creative space.
1959
Establishment of a clinic; Sources of employment: “Clay and pure sand” and “limestone” factories, including a quarry and a gypsum crematorium.
1960
Inauguration of the “Meeting of the Nabataeans” inn on the edge of Ramon Crater.
June 15, 1961
An event “Five years to Mitzpe Ramon”, in which the “Grove of the Century” was planted to mark the first hundred families in the locality; 370 residents, including 160 children, 110 housing units, another 180 – under construction, and 100 in planning.
November 1961
The core of the cooperative city (Air Force veterans) rises to the ground.
1962
The sculpture garden was founded on the edge of Ramon Crater; Moshe Glazer is appointed Secretary of the Workers’ Council; An automatic telephone exchange is opened for thirty telephone subscribers in the locality.
October 1963
Dismantling the core of the cooperative city; Dov Hershkovitz was elected chairman of the first local committee.
1964
The locality is declared a local council; Uri Welch was elected chairman of the council and served until 1968.
1965
Immigrants from North Africa and Romania arrive in the settlement.
1967
The Arava road to Eilat was opened, effectively disconnecting the settlement from the main traffic route to the south of the country.
1968
The IDF officers’ school, BHD 1, is moving to the Mitzpe Ramon area.
1969
Zvi Hazan was elected head of the local council and served until 1973; Katyushas fell on Mitzpe Ramon.
1971
Establishment of the Florence and George Wise Observatory; the settlement numbers about 1400 people.
1972
The establishment of the “Independence” sewing workshop, which over the years has become a symbol of the struggle to create jobs in the locality.
1973
Eliyahu Shapira was elected chairman of the local council and served until 1968; Establishment of the first youth hostel.
1974
Egged stops bus travel through Mitzpe Ramon to and from Eilat.
1980
The peace agreement with Egypt leads to the establishment of military bases in the Negev and to demographic strengthening.
1986
1988
Establishment of a Torah nucleus headed by Rabbi Zvi Kostiner; The settlement numbers 3,000 people.
1990
Immigrants from Ethiopia and the Soviet Union arrive at Mitzpe Ramon.
1993
Sami Shoshan was elected chairman of the local council and served until 1998.
1995
A “coexistence” event initiated by the Artists Museum was held in the abandoned industrial area and brings more artists from various fields to live and work there.
1998
Dror Dbesh was elected chairman of the local council and served until 2003.
1999
Establishment of the “Adama” hangar of the dance troupe of Liat Dror and Nir Ben Gal (operating there until 2016).
2000
Closing the “Independence” sewing workshop. The 57 laid-off seamstresses are fortified in the factory for six weeks. After a struggle, they open the “Mitzpe Atzmaut” sewing workshop with the help of the Histadrut.
2002
The “South” documentary series by Julie Shalev and Doron Tsabari is screened, which deals with the story of the seamstress and seamstress.
2003
Sami Shoshan was elected chairman of the local council and will serve until 2006; Vicky Knafo sets out as a leader in the struggle of single mothers for a protest march to Jerusalem.
2006
Flora Shoshan is elected chairman of the local council and will serve until 2013.
2007
The Nabataean “Spice Road” in the Negev has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
2010
A magazine for culture, society, and the environment, “Road 40” (published until January 2015), was founded.
2011
The “Bereishit” hotel of the “Isrotel” chain is located on the edge of the crater; Approved by the government a “Prawer plan” to regulate Bedouin settlement in the Negev; The “HaAgala” cooperative (an independent neighborhood supermarket) and the “Youth Center” are established.
2013
Roni Marom was elected chairman of the local council; An Ilan Ramon memorial site is located inside the Ramon Crater Visitor Center; the McCann Valley advertising agency is located in the locality; the construction of an airstrip north of the locality is approved.
2014
The Mitzpeh residents’ magazine was founded; Establishment of the Yael Keren Internet radio station “Grandma”; the “Desert” event was held in the Negev region.
2015
The settlement numbers 5,500 people.
2016
Celebrating 60 years of settlement in Mitzpe Ramon.