I met with Rubik Danilovich, the mayor of Be'er Sheva in the city's high-tech park. I received his recommendation to arrive this time by train, and indeed about 50 minutes after boarding the direct train from Tel Aviv, I got off at the Beer Sheva North station and crossed the new bridge on foot and found myself in the heart of the park, which had turned from a distant vision into a real reality.
"You have to change the switch in people's minds," Danilovich says, "take now a person who lives in Rishon LeZion or Ra'anana, stands every morning in traffic jams to Ramat Gan or Tel Aviv, goes crazy behind the wheel in boredom and crawls in an hour and a half, compared to someone who gets on the train while on a laptop and arrives refreshed in less than an hour."
! I Rest My Case
"They laughed at us for initiating the high-tech park," he continues, "They said the companies wouldn't come, especially not international companies, but in the end it happened. A precedent-setting ecosystem has been created here on an international level, and this is said by delegations who come here from all over the world: China, Japan, Europe and the United States / They ask how we managed to create such a cooperative ecosystem consisting of the state, the local authority, academia (Ben-Gurion University), the private entrepreneurial sector (Gav-Yam) and technology companies. There are beautiful parks in the world but there is not this ecosystem all over the world. And how did we do it? We gave up on the egosystem. We put our egos aside and understood that there is a national mission here that will turn Be'er Sheva and the Negev into an international beacon. We broke through the border."
The high-tech park in the heart of the innovation district Photo: Beer Sheva Municipality,
The vision of the high-tech park is realized
The high-tech park in Be'er Sheva is part of the innovation district that was established about three years ago. The quarter covers a relatively small area of 2,700 dunams and includes three main significant anchors of knowledge, technology and innovation: Soroka Hospital, the university, and the park with the ICT Center – a repository of exceptional technological knowledge. The quarter has defined 3 legs for itself, the first is of course cyber, the second is digital health, a subject that connects to both Soroka and Ben-Gurion University, and the third leg is the Desert Tech, issues related to climate and energy in a desert region and the development of relevant technologies.
I've read in some places that it's a disappointment compared to Netanyahu's declaration that there will be a world capital here?
"Companies, commentators, journalists, everyone was skeptical whether the park would even be established. When the first building was built, they said one building is nice, but today they are already building the fourth and fifth buildings and Gav-Yam is asking for approval for the sixth building and there is already 100% occupancy here in the existing buildings. The School of ICT has already been established, and the university is doubling the northern campus and it is constantly developing."
An empire of defense industries
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised that Be'er Sheva would be the cyber capital of the Eastern Hemisphere, but it doesn't stop there. The city of Be'er Sheva is also gradually becoming an empire of the Israeli defense industries.
The defense industries, which are an international economic and technological anchor, have realized that their presence in Be'er Sheva, near the ICT base and the intelligence city that is being built 5 minutes away, is necessary.
IAI is also expected to enter the city and establish the ground plant.
The new factory is part of IAI's ELTA division, which develops airborne radars, mission aircraft intelligence systems, electronic warfare systems, communications systems and more. Tens of millions of dollars will be invested in the construction of the plant for the construction of innovative technological infrastructures and research and development in groundbreaking fields.
Rafael established a research and development branch in Be'er Sheva four years ago and now plans to expand the branch, both in terms of the number of employees employed there and in terms of physical space by leasing additional space.
Sigmabit – one of the first cyber companies in Be'er Sheva was founded eight years ago and currently employs about 4 employees. The company focuses on developing advanced systems in the fields of intelligence, cyber and radar. Alongside it, Elbit's technological incubator operates – one of the first to be established in a park in Be'er Sheva in which they have operated until now.
About 100 startups in the various civilian high-tech fields have created a fascinating combination of military and civilian technologies. The incubator continues its activity in a new partnership structure at the Be'er Sheva Entrepreneurship Center.
Alongside these, Elbit Systems is in advanced stages towards future occupancy of the advanced plant in Ramat Baka. The plant will replace the existing factory in Ramat Hasharon and is expected to employ hundreds more workers.
What is the municipality doing to attract permanent staff and students to live in the city?
"The city prepared for this in advance and prepared a quality of life package for the various populations through umbrella agreements, which are intended to provide a response to the quality of life in the city through the construction of new neighborhoods, the renewal of the city center, the Old City plan and the creation of attractive residential environments. After all, the soldiers who will come to the area are not one unit, there are single men and women who want to live in a young and vibrant community environment with entertainment centers, there are the young families for whom we built the new neighborhoods and invested large investments in education, such as a new school with a specialization in cyber, sciences and arts, planned near the university. In addition, there is the planning of the light rail that will connect the intelligence complex to the city and serve as a means of transportation in the city itself."
The Negev is the real solution to the housing crisis
The Intelligence Campus currently being built near Be'er Sheva will change the national equation. Billions of shekels have been invested in the Intelligence Campus and it may serve as a basis for better population dispersal and may even succeed in changing the trend of "sanctification" of the Dan region as Israel's area of demand. As we approach Israel's 75th anniversary, the government, by making a number of strategic decisions, can create the new Israeli dream in the Negev, a dream based on a vibrant future rich in knowledge and technology.
"I am an emissary of the state," Danilovich continues, "My view is much broader than that of the mayor of Be'er Sheva, I look at the national interest. I am not only waving the Negev flag but the Israeli flag. The Negev is not the problem, but the solution to the housing crisis. Without a change in trend, in a few years the Gush Dan region will be the most densely populated in the world. It won't be fun to live there. Therefore, government housing programs, such as Buyer's Price, which create low-cost apartments for young people, should be built only in the Negev and Galilee, and not in the center. High-speed trains must be built and additional decisions must be made for the development of the Negev, the anchors already exist."
The construction of the desert. Photo: Beer Sheva Municipality,
How can residents be safe?
"This is a national issue that the government is supposed to deal with quickly. Crime is not the exclusive province of Beersheba. Protection also exists in Tel Aviv and northern Israel. We were all shocked by what happened in Gedera. Crime has no borders, we are a small country, and the government must provide a solution and concentrate now on the burning issues such as increasing governance and dealing with issues on which all Israeli society agrees, such as improving the education system, health and more. It can't be that no one wants to be a teacher or a policeman anymore."
International Airport – Connecting the Negev to the World
The connection between transportation and employment and development is close, and in order to connect people from the center to the Negev, a sophisticated transportation system is needed.
One of the transportation systems that has been talked about in recent years is the construction of an airport that complements Ben Gurion Airport, in the Negev in Nevatim. It is estimated that the construction of such an airport could yield about 10,000 direct and indirect jobs in the Negev alongside important economic and tourism development. However, one of the obstacles to the construction of the airport is the Ministry of Defense, which opposes its construction in the Negev.
In this context, Danilovich says, "I am disappointed that none of the government leaders has dared to stand up and make an unequivocal decision to establish an international airport in the Negev. They set up a committee and another committee and decide not to decide.
The establishment of an international airport in the Negev as a secondary airport to Ben Gurion Airport means connecting the Negev to the world, and this is especially necessary in light of the development of the advanced high-tech, cyber and defense industries. Dozens of delegations from all over the world are already arriving in Beersheba. If the IDF opposes converting an airport in Nevatim into a civilian field, it is necessary to find out what the IDF needs, and if another military airport needs to be built, such a decision must be made, and building an airport in the Negev is exactly one of those formative decisions on the way to turning the Negev into a new area of demand. This will improve the quality of life of residents who will be able to fly abroad without coming to the center, and it will improve the quality of life of residents of the center for whom the amount of flights passing over their heads is illogical."
The plan: green lungs and detached homes
As part of his desire to improve the quality of life in the city, Rubik Danilovich talks about his war against the Israel Land Authority when it comes to preserving the city's green lung.
Near the Ramot neighborhood, a forest of about 6,000 dunams with about 150,000 trees was planted in order to preserve the land designated for future development. The ILA, on the other hand, wanted to build about 20,000 units as part of the next stage of development in the neighborhood.
"I fought to keep the area as a green lung of the city and integrated it into the master plan as a green lung," Danilovich reveals.
"At the same time, I also waged a struggle with the planners in the National Planning and Building Council regarding the construction of detached homes in the city. I believe that one of the temptations that Be'er Sheva can offer when it comes to the Israeli dream of living is detached homes.
They argued against me that a metropolitan city should include dense, high-density construction, but I believe that in order to attract more population, the city should also offer detached homes like those being built in nearby communities that will serve both those improving housing from the city and attracting a new population. So we built the Calanit neighborhood, which is a prestigious detached neighborhood, and today the land in the Cyclamen neighborhood is being marketed, which will include about 4,000 detached homes and low-density construction as part of the roof agreements.
No metropolitan city in Israel offers such a number of detached homes. At the same time, the city will also have towers, some of which will reach 30 floors or more and will be located on the main arteries, alongside which the city will offer mainly semi-saturated construction."
15,<> housing units in older neighborhoods
With regard to urban renewal, Rubik Danilovich describes an almost utopian reality for a city located in an area where the economic feasibility of such projects has not yet been proven: "The municipality's policy is to promote and prioritize urban renewal in the city.
To this end, the municipality demanded that the state, as part of the umbrella agreements, help it advance the plans by allocating supplementary land. The renewal processes being promoted in the city have created quality public space, will contribute to narrowing the gaps vis-à-vis the new neighborhoods and will encourage young populations to settle in the city center. I'm not going to create two cities in one city. Neighborhood C, for example, has a rare location and can become a super prestigious neighborhood."
The crater in Beersheba Photo: Yonatan Zaid,
In order to promote urban renewal programs, the Be'er Sheva Municipality operates an Urban Renewal Administration that promotes a variety of renewal projects in older neighborhoods, from promoting policy documents, through the promotion of evacuation-reconstruction complexes, to immediate actions and assistance to community initiatives. Based on this, 14 evacuation-reconstruction complexes are currently being promoted in the city, which are in the planning stages.
Renewal in the Cinema Complex Lights Architecture Photo: (Simulation)- Derman and Raquel Architecture,
These plans will enable the addition of about 15,000 housing units to the city center in the older neighborhoods.
The most advanced plans today are for the Orot complex in neighborhood C – a plan in the municipality track in which the residents have already made tenders and selected Shikun & Binui companies and trained the community to carry out the project.
Urban Renewal on Reger Boulevard. Africa Israel, Besser and Electra Photo: (Simulation) Evolve media,
As part of the plan, 112 housing units will be demolished and 737 new apartments will be built alongside commercial and employment areas. In addition, as part of the plan, the municipality will preserve the old Orot cinema. The plan is in complete deposit and is expected to be approved by the end of 2023.
The renewal of the Wingate complex in neighborhood C is also progressing according to the authorities' track, and is in the stages of absorption by the District Committee, with approval expected by the end of the year.
As part of the plan, 175 housing units will be demolished and 799 housing units will be built.In neighborhood D, a plan for the renewal of the Oren complex is being promoted, which is also in the completion stage for deposit and is expected to be approved by the end of the year.
As part of the plan, 641 housing units will be built.
Also in neighborhood D, a plan for renewal in the Yaakov Avinu complex, which is being promoted by the entrepreneurs track of Africa Israel, BSR and Electra companies. As part of the plan, 136 housing units will be demolished and 822 housing units will be built. The plan is ahead of a round table at the National Planning Committee and is expected to receive approval by the end of the year.
Culture, recreation and tourism
Danilovich believes that the development of the city of Be'er Sheva and the investments in quality sources of employment in new neighborhoods will bring with them initiatives in the fields of culture, entertainment and tourism. This is already happening. Among other things, Danilovich describes the "desert" project, which is a unique project of an interactive zoo, the first of its kind in the world, which includes information and facilities about each animal, which may be a tourist attraction in the city.
In addition, the Israel Land Authority (ILA) and Negev Park (jointly owned by the Be'er Sheva Municipality and the Bnei Shimon Regional Council) are currently working on tenders for the construction of a tourism park in the Negev, which is expected to be the largest in Israel.
The planned location of Negev Park is west of Be'er Sheva, near Kibbutz Hatzerim. The project is expected to cover 7,000 dunams, in which tourism, hotels and attractions will be integrated, totaling about 1,500 dunams, and the rest of the area will be designated for JNF forests, where various activities will also take place.
"Our country is a multifaceted puzzle," Danilovich concludes, "Tel Aviv brings its character – liberality and culture, Jerusalem brings history, heritage and Judaism, and Be'er Sheva aspires to complete the puzzle and offer the opportunity part for young people: dream, knowledge, and quality human capital that will concentrate here. This is the new Israeli dream."
And what about the rumors about the desire to see you one day in the prime minister's chair?
"I am an emissary of the State of Israel in the Negev. This is the crowning glory of my public life, a life's work to which I am committed.
I made it clear that I had no other political aspirations, and in reality, I refused tempting offers that came over the years from various elements on the political map.
The vision of the Negev and its transformation into the new Israeli dream should be raised as a strategic pillar. I'm doing my best in this and I'll keep it going!"
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us