Sedeh Boker

SEDEH BOKER (Heb. שְׂדֵה בּוֹקֵר; "Cattle Rancher's Field"), kibbutz in the central Negev hills of Israel, 11 mi. (19 km.) S. of Yeroḥam, affiliated with Iḥud ha-Kevuẓot ve-ha-Kibbutzim. Sedeh Boker, founded as a pioneer outpost in 1952, was initially an isolated "farming cooperative" in the middle of the desert, unaffiliated with any nationwide settlement association. The settlers were mostly veteran Israelis of different political affiliations. They began with horse breeding, but later introduced sheep flocks and orchards. They reclaimed the loess soil for farming from the desert by special methods. Irrigation depends on the rare flood waters in the rainy season and sewage water. Farming is based on the orchards as well as vineyards, organic citrus groves, and poultry. Sedeh Boker also operates a cellotape factory. From the end of 1953, David *Ben-Gurion and his wife made their home at the kibbutz. In the mid-1990s the population of Sedeh Boker was approximately 365 and at the end of 2002 it was 471.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2007 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.