Sde Boker

A kibbutz built in the northern mountains of the Negev Desert, Sde Boker was home to Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben Gurion and his wife Paula. It was established on May 15, 1952 on the site of an Arab village that had existed there between the 7th and 9th centuries AD; remains of small structures and a mosque with Arabic writing were found on the grounds of the kibbutz.

The Ben Gurion couple moved to Sde Boker after he resigned from government for the first time in 1953. They moved there as part of a personal vision, and doing so was an example that Ben Gurion wanted to set for others. The establishment of Sde Boker was a successful step in Ben Gurion’s dream of making the desert bloom, and the importance of populating this southern part of the country.

“The desert provides us with the best opportunity to begin again… Why does the Jew feel an affinity with Israel? Because everything here must still be accomplished.”

The “hut” on the kibbutz still houses Ben Gurion’s archives and personal library, as well as national documents from his period, preserved in an exhibit exactly the way it looked when “the old man,” as many fondly called him, left them at his death in 1973. The burial site of Ben Gurion and his wife provides a breathtaking view of the Zin Valley.

Midreshet Ben Gurion, a research institute just south of the kibbutz, is another fascinating destination in the immediate area; it is a major center of desert research which attracts educators and researchers from around the world.