Dimona

Dimona is a city in Israel, found in the Negev desert. It is about 30 kilometres southeast of Beersheba and 35 kilometres west of the Dead Sea. In 2024, about 39,590 people lived in Dimona.

Near Dimona, there is an important research center called the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center. Many people know it as the Dimona Reactor. This center is about 13 kilometres southeast of the city and plays a special role in Israel's scientific work.

Etymology

The name Dimona was chosen by the Negev Naming Committee. They picked it because it comes from a town mentioned in the Bible, in the book of Joshua. The old sound of the name stayed in the Arabic name Harabat Umm Dumna.

History

Dimona was created in the 1950s as one of Israel's development towns, led by the country's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion. It was established in 1955, and the first residents were Jewish immigrants from North Africa, including families from Morocco, Yemen, Eastern Europe, and Bene Israel from India.

In 1958, a nuclear research center was built nearby because of its isolated desert location. Dimona became a local council that same year and grew to 5,000 people by 1961. It became a city in 1969. In the 1990s, Dimona welcomed new immigrants from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia. Today, Dimona is the third largest city in the Negev region.

Demography

Dimona is sometimes called "mini-India" because it has a large community of about 7,500 people from India. The city is also home to the Black Hebrews, a group of about 3,000 people. For many years, their official status in Israel was uncertain. However, in May 1990, they were given special visas, and in 1991, they received temporary residency permits. In August 2003, they were finally granted permanent residency by the Israeli Ministry of Interior. Some Black Hebrew families also live in Arad, Mitzpe Ramon, and the Tiberias area.

Economy

In the early 1980s, Dimona had many textile factories, but many of these have closed down. Today, Dimona Silica Industries makes special materials like silica and calcium carbonate. About a third of the people in Dimona work in nearby chemical plants, high-tech companies, or textile shops, while another third work in services. Recently, new technologies have caused some workers to lose their jobs, leading to an unemployment rate of about 10%.

Dimona is also part of Israel’s growing use of solar power. Near the city, there is a special area with many mirrors that catch the sun’s energy. This heat is used to make steam, which helps create electricity. A company called Luz II plans to use this solar setup to test new ideas for solar power plants that will be built in California.

Geography and climate

Dimona is a city in the Negev Desert. It sits about 550 to 600 metres above sea level.

The city has a semi-arid climate, which means it is dry but not completely desert-like. The average temperature there is around 18.5 °C, and it gets about 213 mm of rain each year.

Transportation

In the early 1950s, a railway extension was built to Dimona for moving goods. Passenger trains started in 2005 after the city asked for them. The Dimona Railway Station is in the southwest part of the city. The main bus station in Dimona has routes to Beersheba, Tel Aviv, Eilat, and nearby towns.

Notable people

• Jacques Amir (1933–2011), a member of the Knesset
• Ben Ammi Ben-Israel (1939–2014), a spiritual leader of the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem
• Meir Cohen (born 1955), a minister of welfare and social services and a member of the Knesset
• Yoel Strick (born 1966), a Major General in the IDF reserves
• Kfir Edri (born 1976), a footballer
• Yossi Benayoun (born 1980), a footballer
• Lucy Aharish (born 1981), a news presenter and television host
• Akiva Turgeman (born 1991), a singer and songwriter
• Rabbi Yosef ben David Renassia (1879–1962), an Algerian rabbi and a historic preservationist

Twin towns

Dimona has a special friendship with Andernach, a city in Germany. This friendship began in 1975. Andernach is located in the area known as Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany.