Mitzpe Ramon's water tower and old neighborhood

Mitzpe Ramon: Landmarks

In all periods, nomadic shepherds roamed the Negev, and at certain times small settlements, trading posts, and local fortresses were also established.
The Mitzpe Ramon Experience editorial stuff

The Mitzpe Ramon Experience editorial stuff

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
Shmuel Cohen was elected chairman of the local council and served until 1993; Expansion of the sculpture garden at the initiative of Ezra Orion.
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.