Tamar Regional Council
Encyclopedia
The Tamar Regional Council is a regional council
in Israel's South District
, on the south and western edges of the Dead Sea
along the Arava
valley. The council was established in 1955 with the opening of lodging at Sodom
near the Dead Sea Works
, and its jurisdiction covers an area of 1,650 km2.
The first council head was Yehuda Almog (Kopelivitch), who had lived in the area from 1934. The present Mayor of the Tamar Regional Council is Mr. Dov Litvinoff.
The council today encompasses communal villages, agriculture , factories, tourist sites, and military and civilian installations. Tamar council has a permanent population of 2,300, half of which is Jewish and lives in 5 communities, and half of which is Arab living in unrecognized communities
. A large number of people from other areas are employed both year-round and seasonally at the Dead Sea Works, the Dead Sea hotel district at Neve Zohar
, and numerous other tourist spots like Ein Gedi
and Masada
. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics
(CBS), the total population of the regional council in 2006 was 2,300.
Ir Ovot
was disbanded as a kibbutz in the mid-1980s, but an unincorporated group of families still live on the site.
Regional council (Israel)
Regional councils are one of the three types of local government entities found in Israel, with the other two being cities and local councils. As of 2003, there were 53 regional councils in Israel, usually responsible for governing a number of settlements spread across rural areas...
in Israel's South District
South District (Israel)
The Southern District is one of Israel's six administrative districts, and is the largest in terms of land area as well as the most sparsely populated. It covers most of the Negev desert, as well as the Arabah valley. The population of the Southern District is 1,002,400. It is 86% Jewish and 14%...
, on the south and western edges of the Dead Sea
Dead Sea
The Dead Sea , also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are below sea level, the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface. The Dead Sea is deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world...
along the Arava
Arabah
The Arabah , also known as Aravah, is a section of the Great Rift Valley running in a north-south orientation between the southern end of the Sea of Galilee down to the Dead Sea and continuing further south where it ends at the Gulf of Aqaba. It includes most of the border between Israel to the...
valley. The council was established in 1955 with the opening of lodging at Sodom
Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah were cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis and later expounded upon throughout the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and Deuterocanonical sources....
near the Dead Sea Works
Dead Sea Works
The Dead Sea Works is an Israeli potash plant in Sdom, on the Dead Sea coast of Israel.-History:The company was established in 1930 by Moshe Novomeysky. It was known then as the Palestine Potash Company...
, and its jurisdiction covers an area of 1,650 km2.
The first council head was Yehuda Almog (Kopelivitch), who had lived in the area from 1934. The present Mayor of the Tamar Regional Council is Mr. Dov Litvinoff.
The council today encompasses communal villages, agriculture , factories, tourist sites, and military and civilian installations. Tamar council has a permanent population of 2,300, half of which is Jewish and lives in 5 communities, and half of which is Arab living in unrecognized communities
Unrecognized villages
The term Unrecognized Bedouin villages in Israel refers to Arab villages in the Negev and the Galilee which the Israeli government does not recognize as legal settlements. Approximately half of Bedouin citizens of Israel live in 39-45 such villages...
. A large number of people from other areas are employed both year-round and seasonally at the Dead Sea Works, the Dead Sea hotel district at Neve Zohar
Neve Zohar
Neve Zohar is a communal village in the South District of Israel, and the capital of the Tamar Regional Council. It is located on the junction of Highway 31 and Highway 90 , on the shores of the Dead Sea and 23 km from Arad by road...
, and numerous other tourist spots like Ein Gedi
Ein Gedi
Ein Gedi is an oasis in Israel, located west of the Dead Sea, near Masada and the caves of Qumran.-Etymology:The name En-gedi is composed of two Hebrew words: ein means spring and gdi means goat-kid. En Gedi thus means "Kid spring."...
and Masada
Masada
Masada is the name for a site of ancient palaces and fortifications in the South District of Israel, on top of an isolated rock plateau, or horst, on the eastern edge of the Judean Desert, overlooking the Dead Sea. Masada is best known for the violence that occurred there in the first century CE...
. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics
Israel Central Bureau of Statistics
The Israel Central Bureau of Statistics , abbreviated CBS, is an Israeli government office established in 1949 to carry out research and publish statistical data on all aspects of Israeli life, including population, society, economy, industry, education and physical infrastructure.It is headed by a...
(CBS), the total population of the regional council in 2006 was 2,300.
List of settlements
- Ein GediEin Gedi (kibbutz)Ein Gedi is a kibbutz on the western shore of the Dead Sea in Israel. Located on the edge of the Judean desert at the site of historic Ein Gedi, its municipal services are provided by Tamar Regional Council. In 2011, the kibbutz had 213 members.-History:...
kibbutzKibbutzA kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism... - Har AmasaHar AmasaHar Amasa is a communal settlement in the south of Israel. Located near the Yatir Forest 20 kilometres south of Hebron and 14 km northeast of Arad, it is the only member of the Tamar Regional Council to be located in the highlands outside the Great Rift Valley.It was named after the nearby...
(kibbutz) - Neot HaKikarNeot HaKikarNeot HaKikar is a moshav in the northern Arabah valley in Israel. Located south of the Dead Sea, it falls under the jurisdiction of Tamar Regional Council....
(moshavMoshavMoshav is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists during the second aliyah...
) - Ein HatzevaEin HatzevaEin Hatzeva is a moshav in the central Arava valley in Israel. Located south of the Dead Sea, it falls under the jurisdiction of Tamar Regional Council....
(moshav) - Ein TamarEin TamarEin Tamar is a moshav in the northern Arabah valley in Israel. Located south of the Dead Sea, it falls under the jurisdiction of Tamar Regional Council.It was established in August 1982 by 24 families....
(moshav) - Neve ZoharNeve ZoharNeve Zohar is a communal village in the South District of Israel, and the capital of the Tamar Regional Council. It is located on the junction of Highway 31 and Highway 90 , on the shores of the Dead Sea and 23 km from Arad by road...
(communal settlementCommunal settlement (Israel)A community settlement is a type of town in Israel. While in an ordinary town anyone may buy property, in a community settlement the town's residents, who are organized in a cooperative, can veto a sale of a house or a business to an undesirable buyer....
)
Ir Ovot
Ir Ovot
Ir Ovot , was an agricultural cooperative in Israel 1967–1980s, located in the northeastern Negev's Arava region, and still refers to a small, group of homes near New Ein Hatzeva....
was disbanded as a kibbutz in the mid-1980s, but an unincorporated group of families still live on the site.
External links
- Jordanian / Israeli Cooperation at Southern Dead Sea MoU signed to advance sustainable development in the Southern Dead Sea Basin, article by Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME), published January 18, 2007