View source for Netivot

{{Short description|City in southern Israel}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Netivot
| native_name        = {{Lang|he|{{Script/Hebrew|נְתִיבוֹת}}|rtl=yes}}<Br />نتيڤوت
| settlement_type    = [[List of cities in Israel|City]]
| image_skyline      = {{center|{{Photomontage
  |photo1a = PikiWiki Israel 44402 Aerial photo of Netivot .jpg
  |photo1b = PikiWiki Israel 44401 Aerial photo of Netivot.jpg
  |photo2a = PikiWiki Israel 44283 Aerial photo of Netivots water tower.jpg
  |photo2b = Netivot stadio1.jpg
  |photo3e = Netivot Banner.jpg
  |photo4e =
  |size    = 280
  |color   = transparent
  |border  = 0
}}}}
| image_blank_emblem = Coat of arms of Netivot.svg
| pushpin_map_alt    = 
| pushpin_map        = Israel north negev#Israel
| pushpin_mapsize    = 
| pushpin_label_position = right
| pushpin_map_caption = 
| coordinates        = {{coord|31|25|N|34|35|E|region:IL|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = {{ISR}}
| subdivision_type1  = 
| subdivision_name1  = 
| subdivision_type2  = [[Districts of Israel|District]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Southern District (Israel)|Southern]]
| established_title  = Founded
| established_date   = 1956
| established_title1 = [[City council (Israel)|City Status]]
| established_date1  = 1996
| leader_title       = Mayor
| leader_name        = Yehiel Zohar
| unit_pref          = dunam
| area_total_dunam   = {{formatnum:5626|R}}
| population_footnotes = {{Israel populations|reference}}
| population_total   = 46,374
| population_as_of   = 2023
| population_density_km2 = auto
| blank_name_sec1    = Name meaning
| blank_info_sec1    = Paths
}}

'''Netivot''' ({{lang-he|נְתִיבוֹת}}, "''paths''", {{lang-ar|نتيڤوت}}) is a city in the [[Southern District (Israel)|Southern District]] of [[Israel]] located between [[Beersheba]] and [[Gaza City|Gaza]]. In {{Israel populations|Year}}, it had a population of {{Israel populations|Netivot}}.{{Israel populations|reference}}

==History==
[[File:PikiWiki Israel 10866 Early days of Netivot.jpg|thumb|Netivot in 1960s]]

Netivot was founded in 1956 {{Israel populations|reference}} and named after the biblical verse: "All her paths are peace" ([[Proverbs 3]]:17).<ref>Bitan, Hanna: 1948–1998: Fifty Years of 'Hityashvut': Atlas of Names of Settlements in Israel, Jerusalem 1999, Carta, p.51, {{ISBN|965-220-423-4}} {{in lang|he}}</ref> Initially a [[Ma'abarot|ma'abara]], it was later transformed into a [[development town]]. The first residents were immigrants from [[Moroccan Jews|Morocco]] and [[History of the Jews in Tunisia|Tunisia]]. In the 1990s, they were joined by immigrants from Russia and Ethiopia. For many years, Netivot suffered from high unemployment.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/30/world/netivot-journal-in-spirit-of-atonement-an-apology-to-sephardim.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |title=Netivot Journal; In Spirit of Atonement, an Apology to Sephardim |first=Joel |last=Greenberg |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=30 September 1997 |access-date=April 17, 2019}}</ref> Since 2008, Netivot has been the target of [[Grad missile]] [[Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel|attacks from Gaza]]. In 2012, a rocket exploded near a school in the city.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.jpost.com/Defense/Rocket-explodes-near-school-in-Netivot |title=Rocket explodes near school in Netivot |last=Lappin |first=Yaakov |date=March 16, 2012 |newspaper=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |access-date=April 17, 2019}}</ref>

A major landmark is the tomb of the [[Baba Sali]] (1889–1984), a [[Morocco|Moroccan]]-born [[kabbalist]] who is buried there.<ref name=haaretz>{{cite news|title=Negev town of Netivot transforms into South's nightlife hotspot|work=Haaretz|access-date=2008-10-20|date=2008-10-17|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1028967.html}}</ref>

During the [[2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel]], in which more than 1,200 Israelis were killed by [[Hamas]], most of them civilians,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Latest Death Toll in Israel and Gaza |url=https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/israel-hamas-war-gaza/card/latest-casualty-figures-from-israel-and-gaza-dQNSenweikTeA7YPWzOP |access-date=2023-10-17 |website=WSJ |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-10 |title=More than 100 civilians were massacred at Kfar Aza kibbutz in Hamas attacks, Israeli soldiers say |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20231010-smell-of-death-fills-israeli-kibbutz-where-civilians-were-slain |access-date=2023-10-17 |website=France 24 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-17 |title=After blast kills hundreds at Gaza hospital, Hamas and Israel trade blame as rage spreads in region |url=https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-war-biden-rafah-e062825a375d9eb62e95509cab95b80c |access-date=2023-10-21 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref> the city was the target of several rocket attacks, including a rocket directly hitting a house and killing three citizens.<ref>{{Cite web |title=In Netivot, poverty compounds the problems of a battered border city |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-netivot-poverty-compounds-the-problems-of-a-battered-border-city/ |access-date=2023-10-17 |website=www.timesofisrael.com |language=en-US}}</ref> A journalist investigation broadcast 11 months after the attack claims that Hamas had planned to send many militants to infiltrate Netivot, but then changed its mind and turned back their militants to commit [[Re'im music festival massacre|the massacre at the Nova music festival in Re'im]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Report shows IDF’s silence on fears ahead of Nova, failure to react as massacre unfolded|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/tv-report-details-idfs-silence-on-security-fears-failure-to-react-to-nova-massacre/|publisher=[[The Times of Israel]]|date=September 8, 2024}}</ref> In [[Israel-Hamas war|the war that followed the attack]], Hamas fired approximately 50 rockets towards Netivot on January 16, 2024, with one falling inside the city, hitting a store.<ref>{{cite news|title=50 rockets fired at south Israel, largest barrage in weeks; 2 more soldiers killed|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/50-rockets-fired-at-south-israel-largest-barrage-in-weeks-2-more-soldiers-killed/|date=16 January 2024|publisher=[[The Times of Israel]]|first=Emanuel |last=Fabian}}</ref>

==Demographics==
[[File:PikiWiki Israel 10703 Architecture of Israel.jpg|thumb|Ethiopian cultural center in Netivot]]
In 2001, the ethnic make-up of the city was 99.9% [[Jew]]ish, with no significant [[Arab citizens of Israel|Palestinian]] population, and the population was evenly divided between males and females. The city ranked relatively low in the socio-economic index (3 out of 10).<ref>{{cite web |title=Local Councils and Municipalities, by Economic-Socio Index, Ranking and Cluster Membership |url=http://www.cbs.gov.il/www/publications/local_authorities2003/pdf/t02.pdf |publisher=Central Bureau of Statistics |access-date=13 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171003225753/http://www.cbs.gov.il/www/publications/local_authorities2003/pdf/t02.pdf |archive-date=3 October 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In the wake of [[Operation Solomon]], Netivot absorbed a large number of Ethiopian Jewish immigrants.<ref>[http://netivot.jewishagency.org/2011/12/26/netivot-commemorates-20-years-to-operation-solomon/ Netivot commemorates 20 years to Operation Solomon] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003050026/http://netivot.jewishagency.org/2011/12/26/netivot-commemorates-20-years-to-operation-solomon/ |date=2013-10-03 }}</ref>

By the end of 2009, Netivot had a population of 26,700.<ref>{{cite news |last=Ronen |first=Gil |url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/166696#.UWPheqLvGN7 |title=Bennett – We Don't Bow Our Heads before Turks |date=April 4, 2013 |work=[[Arutz Sheva]] |access-date=April 17, 2019}}</ref>

==Education==
According to the [[Israel Central Bureau of Statistics|Central Bureau of Statistics]], there were 22 schools and 4,243 students in the city: 16 elementary schools with 3,053 students, and 11 high schools with 1,190 students. 43.1% of 12th grade students were entitled to a [[Bagrut]] matriculation certificate in 2001. 

In 2009, a high school student from Netivot won first prize in the [[First Step to Nobel Prize in Physics]] competition.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/israeli-teen-wins-int-l-physics-prize-1.5164624|title=Kiryat Gat Teen Wins First Prize in International Physics Competition|date=20 September 2012|newspaper=Haaretz}}</ref>

Netivot schools have been chosen for a special pilot project in which elementary school children build their own mini-robots.
In 2011, Netivot hosted a robotics festival sponsored by the international organization [[For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology|FIRST]] - For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/1.5108633|title=Robots Enliven Negev Desert Community|date=15 November 2018|newspaper=Haaretz}}</ref> First, second, and third graders at the Noam Eliyahu religious school in Netivot spend eight hours a week studying science and robotics at Lehava, the municipal science center.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/1.5108633|title=Robots Enliven Negev Desert Community|date=15 November 2018|newspaper=Haaretz}}</ref>

The Mandel Center for Leadership in the Negev (MCLN) runs a two-year community-based leadership program in Netivot.<ref>[http://mandel.mli.org.il/MandelFoundation/News/Tomorrow%E2%80%99s+Leaders+of+Today%E2%80%99s+Negev.htm Tomorrow’s Leaders of Today’s Negev] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130123110120/http://mandel.mli.org.il/MandelFoundation/News/Tomorrow%E2%80%99s%2BLeaders%2Bof%2BToday%E2%80%99s%2BNegev.htm |date=2013-01-23 }}</ref>

Netivot hosts the well known [[:He: ישיבת_הנגב|''Yeshivat HaNegev'']] - "the [[Yeshiva]] of the Negev". A [[Haredi]] institution, it is currently [[Rosh yeshiva|headed]] by Rabbi Aryeh Leib Levi, and has approximately 200 students. It was founded in 1966 by Rabbi [[:He: יששכר_מאיר|Issachar Meir]], and was renamed for him ''Yeshivat Hanegev Shachar Shakir'' on his passing.

The city is also home to the [[Religious Zionist]] ''[[Hesder]]'' Yeshiva of Netivot, ''[[:He: ישיבת_ההסדר_נתיבות |"Ahavat Yisrael"]]''. <ref>[https://www.yhn.co.il/ yhn.co.il]</ref> It was founded in 2000 by Rabbi [[Yisrael Friedman (Pashkaner Rebbe)|Yisrael Friedman]] and is today headed by Rabbi David Asulin with approximately 50 students.

== Transportation ==
[[File:Trainstnetivot2.jpg|thumb|[[Netivot railway station]]]]
Netivot is accessible by [[Highway 34 (Israel)|Highway 34]], [[Highway 25 (Israel)|Highway 25]] and Route 232.

The [[Ashkelon–Beersheba railway]], a new railway line which connected Netivot with [[Tel Aviv]] and [[Beersheba]], was inaugurated in February 2015. The [[Netivot railway station]] located on the western outskirts of the city, was opened on February 15, 2015.<ref name=Calcalist>{{cite news |date=2015-02-12 |title=מיום ראשון הקרוב - מסילת הרכבת מתחברת לעיר נתיבות|trans-title=From Sunday - A railway line will connect to Netivot|url=https://www.calcalist.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3652332,00.html|language=he |work=[[Calcalist]]|access-date=2019-03-11}}</ref> A bus terminal is located adjacent to the station.

==Local culture==
Netivot is known for being the home of Jewish mystics and as a popular pilgrimage site. The growth of mysticism and sacred sites in Netivot led to it being dubbed the "[[Varanasi]] of Israel". The most prominent rabbis in Netivot include [[Baruch Abuhateizra]], [[Yaakov Israel Ifergan]] and [[Yoram Abergel]].<ref>The Making of Saints: Contesting Sacred Ground. James F Hopgood (ed.) p.38</ref> On the anniversary of the [[Baba Sali]]'s death, thousands of pilgrims come to Netivot to visit his tomb.<ref>{{cite web|title=Baba Sali|publisher=Go Israel|url=http://www.goisrael.com/Tourism_Eng/Tourist%20Information/Jewish%20Themes/Jewish_Sites/Pages/Baba%20Sali%20jew.aspx|access-date=14 December 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111225032338/http://www.goisrael.com/Tourism_Eng/Tourist%20Information/Jewish%20Themes/Jewish_Sites/Pages/Baba%20Sali%20jew.aspx|archive-date=25 December 2011}}</ref>

Eleven local newspapers are published in the city.<ref>{{cite news |last=Yagna |first=Yanir |url=https://www.haaretz.com/in-israeli-desert-town-print-newspapers-are-all-the-rage-1.5166793| title=In Israeli Desert Town, Print Newspapers Are All the Rage |date=June 1, 2012 |newspaper=[[Haaretz]] |access-date=April 17, 2019}}</ref>

Three successful nightclubs have opened in Netivot which also draw clientele from out of town, attracting young people from [[Ashkelon]], [[Beersheba]], [[Omer, Israel|Omer]], [[Lehavim]], [[Ofakim]], and [[Sderot]].<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Negev Town of Netivot Transforms Into South's Nightlife Hotspot |url=https://www.haaretz.com/1.5046358 |newspaper=[[Haaretz]] |date=October 16, 2008 |access-date=April 17, 2019}}</ref>

==Development plans ==
[[File:PikiWiki Israel 10888 Architecture of Israel.jpg|thumb|Architecture in Netivot]]
In 2019, two new neighborhoods with a total of 3,600 housing units planned for Netivot were expected to double the city's population.<ref>{{cite news |last=Tsion |first=Hila |date=September 8, 2012 |url=https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4265277,00.html |title=South gets 4,100 new housing units |work=YNet News |access-date=April 17, 2019}}</ref> Two large supermarkets were also planned which would bring the total to 9.<ref>{{cite news |last=Yagna |first=Yanir |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/supersized-supermarkets-invade-tiny-israeli-desert-town-of-netivot.premium-1.458866 |title=Supersized supermarkets invade tiny Israeli desert town of Netivot Israel News |newspaper=[[Haaretz]] |date=2012-08-17|access-date=2013-03-26}}</ref>

==Industry==
There are 24 plants and factories located in a nearby industrial park, mostly in food processing, metals, plastics, and construction sectors.<ref>{{cite web |title=תעשיות הפארק |url=http://www.park-noam.org.il/catalogexted.php?sub=0&cat=2 |publisher=פארק תעשיות בע"מ |access-date=13 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909011735/http://www.park-noam.org.il/catalogexted.php?sub=0&cat=2 |archive-date=9 September 2017 |language=Hebrew |url-status=dead}}</ref> There are an additional 15 factories located in the city in some of the same sectors as above, and also chemical and mineral sectors.<ref>{{cite web |title=תעשייה ופיתוח בנתיבות |url=http://www.netivot.muni.il/TextPage.aspx?ID=39 |publisher=עיריית נתיבות |access-date=13 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208071214/http://www.netivot.muni.il/TextPage.aspx?ID=39 |archive-date=8 December 2015 |language=Hebrew |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikivoyage}}
{{Portal|Israel}}
{{commons category-inline}}
*[https://www.nbn.org.il/gosouth/community_profile/netivot/ Netivot profile, Nefesh B'nefesh]
*{{official website|https://www.netivot.muni.il/ }} {{in lang|he}}

{{South District (Israel)}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Cities in Israel]]
[[Category:Development towns]]
[[Category:Gaza envelope]]
[[Category:Populated places in Southern District (Israel)]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1956]]
[[Category:1956 establishments in Israel]]
[[Category:Cities in Southern District (Israel)]]
[[Category:Netivot| ]]