Beersheba
Beersheba (/bɪərˈʃiːbə/ beer-SHEE-bə), officially Be'er-Sheva (usually spelled Beer Sheva; Hebrew: בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, romanized: Bəʾēr Ševaʿ, IPA: [ˈbe(ʔ)eʁ ˈʃeva(ʕ)] ⓘ / [beʁˈʃeva]; Arabic: بِئْر السَّبْع, romanized: Biʾr as-Sabʿ Arabic pronunciation: [biʔr‿as.sabʕ]; lit. 'Well of the Oath' or 'Well of the Seven'), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth-most populous Israeli city with a population of 211,251, and the second-largest city in area (after Jerusalem), with a total area of 117,500 dunams (45 mi2 / 117.5 km2).
Be'er-Sheva
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| Hebrew transcription(s) | |
| • Also spelled | Be'er-Sheva (official) Beer Sheva (unofficial) |
From Upper left: Beersheba City Hall, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Negev Museum of Art, view of downtown, Volunteers square, Be'er Sheva at night | |
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Flag | |
Be'er-Sheva Be'er-Sheva | |
| Coordinates: 31°15′32″N 34°47′59″E | |
| Country | Israel |
| District | Southern |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Ruvik Danilovich |
| Area | |
| • Total | 117,500 dunams (117.5 km2 or 45.4 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 260 m (850 ft) |
| Population (2022) | |
| • Total | 212,532 |
| • Density | 1,800/km2 (4,700/sq mi) |
| Name meaning | Well of the Oath(see also) |
| Website | beer-sheva.muni.il |
The Biblical site of Beersheba is Tel Be'er Sheva, lying some 4 km distant from the modern city, which was established at the start of the 20th century by the Ottomans. The city was captured by the British-led Australian Light Horse troops in the Battle of Beersheba during World War I.
The population of the town was completely changed in 1948–49. Bir Seb'a (Arabic: بئر السبع), as it was then known, had been almost entirely Muslim and Christian, and was designated to be part of the Arab state in the 1947 United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine. In October 1948 it was captured by the Israel Defense Forces and part of Arab population fled, relocated or was expelled. Today, the metropolitan area is composed of approximately equal Jewish and Arab populations, with a large portion of the Jewish population made up of the descendants of Sephardi Jews and Mizrahi Jews who were expelled from Arab countries after Israel's founding in 1948, as well as smaller communities of Bene Israel and Cochin Jews from India. Second and third waves of immigration have taken place since 1990, bringing Russian-speaking immigrants from the former Soviet Union as well as Beta Israel immigrants from Ethiopia. The Soviet immigrants have made the game of chess a major sport in Beersheba, and it is now Israel's national chess center, with more chess grandmasters per capita than any other city in the world.
Beersheba is home to Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. This city also serves as a center for Israel's high-tech and developing technology industry.
The city has constructed over 250 roundabouts, earning its moniker as the "Roundabouts Capital of the Israel" and the largest number of roundabouts in the world.