Sde Boker

A large agricultural farm or small village existed here in the early Islamic period, from the late 7th century to the early 9th century.{{Citation |first=Jodi |last=Magness|authorlink=Jodi Magness |title=The Archaeology of the Early Islamic Settlement in Palestine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GYrPd2H1cjcC |publisher=Eisenbrauns |place=Winona Lake, Indiana |year=2003 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=GYrPd2H1cjcC&pg=PA138 138]–39, [https://books.google.com/books?id=GYrPd2H1cjcC&pg=PA146 146]–47|isbn=9781575060705}}. Remains of dozens of structures exist, including a mosque near which hundreds of Arabic inscriptions were found.

The modern kibbutz was established on 15 May 1952 by former soldiers, including Yehoshua Cohen who assassinated United Nations envoys Folke Bernadotte and André Sérot in 1948. In 1953 Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion resigned from office and moved to the kibbutz. Although he returned to politics in 1955, he continued to live in the kibbutz until his death in 1973, when he was buried nearby at Midreshet Ben-Gurion alongside his wife Paula Ben-Gurion. Ben-Gurion moved to the kibbutz inspired by his vision of cultivating the Negev desert and building up its surrounding towns such as Yeruham and Dimona. He believed that eventually the Negev would be home to many Jews who would move to Israel, and he felt that Sde Boker was a trailblazer and example for what should follow. His home was later turned into a museum.

In his official writings Ben-Gurion often mused about his efforts at rejuvenating the Negev:

{{quote|The desert provides us with the best opportunity to begin again. This is a vital element of our renaissance in Israel. For it is in mastering nature that man learns to control himself. It is in this sense, more practical than mystic, that I define our Redemption on this land. Israel must continue to cultivate its nationality and to represent the Jewish people without renouncing its glorious past. It must earn this—which is no small task—a right that can only be acquired in the desert.

When I looked out my window today and saw a tree standing before me, the sight awoke in me a greater sense of beauty and personal satisfaction than all the forests that I have crossed in Switzerland and Scandinavia. For we planted each tree in this place and watered them with the water we provided at the cost of numerous efforts. Why does a mother love her children so? Because they are her creation. Why does the Jew feel an affinity with Israel? Because everything here must still be accomplished. It depends only on him to participate in this privileged act of creation. The trees at Sde Boker speak to me differently than do the trees planted elsewhere. Not only because I participated in their planting and in their maintenance, but also because they are a gift of man to nature and a gift of the Jews to the compost of their culture.}}

Sde Boker is also well known for its Bedouin tents.{{Citation |url=http://www.jafi.org.il/education/moriya/negev/DavidBenGurion.html |title=David Ben-Gurion |publisher=Jewish Agency |place=IL |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040804004700/http://www.jafi.org.il/education/moriya/negev/DavidBenGurion.html |archivedate=2004-08-04 }}. In 2014, it was host to the Midburn festival.

On March 27, 2022, Sde Boker was the site of "the Negev Summit" of foreign ministers from the United States, Bahrain, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt.{{Cite news |last=Kingsley |first=Patrick |date=2022-03-26 |title=Israel Summit Shows Ties With Arabs Moving From Ceremony to Substance |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/26/world/middleeast/israel-arab-summit.html |access-date=2022-03-27 |issn=0362-4331}}

Sde Boker has a hot desert climate (Köppen: BWh),{{Cite journal |title=Table 1 Overview of the Köppen-Geiger climate classes including the defining criteria. |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-023-02549-6/tables/1 |journal=Nature: Scientific Data |language=en}} with cool winters and hot summers.

{{Weather box

| width = auto

| collapsed = yes

| metric first = yes

| single line = yes

| location = Sde Boker (1991–2020)

| Jan record high C = 27.3

| Feb record high C = 30.9

| Mar record high C = 36.4

| Apr record high C = 39.0

| May record high C = 42.2

| Jun record high C = 41.7

| Jul record high C = 41.6

| Aug record high C = 41.1

| Sep record high C = 43.2

| Oct record high C = 39.2

| Nov record high C = 32.5

| Dec record high C = 29.1

| year record high C = 43.2

| Jan high C = 15.3

| Feb high C = 16.9

| Mar high C = 20.5

| Apr high C = 25.3

| May high C = 29.3

| Jun high C = 31.8

| Jul high C = 33.4

| Aug high C = 33.2

| Sep high C = 31.1

| Oct high C = 27.8

| Nov high C = 22.2

| Dec high C = 17.3

| year high C = 25.3

| Jan mean C = 9.9

| Feb mean C = 11.3

| Mar mean C = 14.3

| Apr mean C = 18.1

| May mean C = 21.8

| Jun mean C = 24.4

| Jul mean C = 26.2

| Aug mean C = 26.4

| Sep mean C = 24.5

| Oct mean C = 21.4

| Nov mean C = 16.1

| Dec mean C = 11.6

| year mean C = 18.8

| Jan low C = 4.6

| Feb low C = 5.6

| Mar low C = 8.1

| Apr low C = 10.9

| May low C = 14.3

| Jun low C = 16.9

| Jul low C = 19.1

| Aug low C = 19.5

| Sep low C = 17.8

| Oct low C = 15.0

| Nov low C = 10.0

| Dec low C = 5.8

| year low C = 12.3

| Jan record low C = -4.5

| Feb record low C = -1.9

| Mar record low C = 0.4

| Apr record low C = 1.3

| May record low C = 7.1

| Jun record low C = 9.8

| Jul record low C = 13.0

| Aug record low C = 14.1

| Sep record low C = 11.3

| Oct record low C = 8.0

| Nov record low C = 0.0

| Dec record low C = -2.0

| year record low C = -4.5

| precipitation colour = green

| Jan precipitation mm = 26.6

| Feb precipitation mm = 17.8

| Mar precipitation mm = 13.6

| Apr precipitation mm = 4.4

| May precipitation mm = 1.3

| Jun precipitation mm = 0.4

| Jul precipitation mm = 0.0

| Aug precipitation mm = 0.0

| Sep precipitation mm = 0.0

| Oct precipitation mm = 5.9

| Nov precipitation mm = 6.1

| Dec precipitation mm = 11.2

| year precipitation mm = 87.3

| unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm

| Jan precipitation days = 3.7

| Feb precipitation days = 3.3

| Mar precipitation days = 2.2

| Apr precipitation days = 0.9

| May precipitation days = 0.4

| Jun precipitation days = 0.0

| Jul precipitation days = 0.0

| Aug precipitation days = 0.0

| Sep precipitation days = 0.0

| Oct precipitation days = 0.6

| Nov precipitation days = 1.5

| Dec precipitation days = 2.2

| year precipitation days = 14.8

| source = NOAA{{cite web

|url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Israel/CSV/SEDEBOQER_NA.csv

|title = World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020 — Sde Boker

|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

|access-date = January 11, 2024}}

}}

File:SdeBokerDec282021 02.jpg|Kibbutz Sde Boker

File:SdeBokerDec282021 01.jpg|Kedma Hotel in Sde Boker Kibbutz

File:Grave of David Ben Gurion and Paula Munweis in Sde Boker.jpg|Graves of Paula and David Ben-Gurion in nearby Midreshet Ben Gurion

{{reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

{{Wikivoyage}}

• {{Citation | url = http://www.sde-boker.org.il/ | title = Sde Boker | format = Kibbutz website | place = IL | language = HE}}.
• {{Citation | url = http://www.goisrael.com/Tourism_Euk/Tourist+Information/Discover+Israel/Cities/Sde+Boker.htm | publisher = Go Israel | contribution = Sde Boker | title = Discover Israel}}.

{{Ramat Negev Regional Council}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Kibbutzim

Category:Kibbutz Movement

Category:Populated places established in 1952

Category:1952 establishments in Israel