Beersheba

Israel municipality Beersheba ( , Be'er Sheva ; ; ; , Bi'r as-Sab` ; ) is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel . Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the seventh-largest city in Israel with a population of 186,100. Beersheba grew in importance in the 19th century, when the Ottoman Turks built a regional police station there. The Battle of Beersheba was part of a wider British offensive in World War I aimed at breaking the Turkish defensive line from Gaza to Beersheba. In 1947, Bir Seb'a ( ), as it was known, was envisioned as part of the Arab state in the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine . When the Arabs rejected the United Nations resolution declaring Israel an independent state, the Egyptian army amassed its forces in Beersheba as a strategic and logistical base. In October 1948, the city was conquered by the Israel Defense Forces . A large portion of the population is made up of Jews who immigrated from Arab countries after 1948, and has been significantly boosted since 1990 by immigrants from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union . Israel Central Bureau of Statistics .

Israel municipality Beersheba ( / b [invalid input: 'eer'] ˈ ʃ [invalid input: 'ee'] b ə / ; , Be'er Sheva ; ; ; Biʾr as-Sabʿ (listen) , Levantine pronunciation: ) is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel . Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the seventh-largest city in Israel with a population of 197,269. Beersheba grew in importance in the 19th century, when the Ottoman Turks built a regional police station there. The Battle of Beersheba was part of a wider British offensive in World War I aimed at breaking the Turkish defensive line from Gaza to Beersheba. In 1947, Bir Seb'a ( ), as it was known, was envisioned as part of the Arab state in the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine . Following the declaration of Israel's independence, the Egyptian army amassed its forces in Beersheba as a strategic and logistical base. In the Battle of Beersheba waged in October 1948, it was conquered by the Israel Defense Forces . A large portion of the population is made up of the descendants of Sephardi Jews and Mizrahi Jews who immigrated from Arab countries after 1948, as well as smaller communities of Bene Israel and Cochin Jews from India . Second and third waves of immigration have taken place since 1990, bringing Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union , as well as Beta Israel immigrants from Ethiopia . The Soviet immigrants have made the game of chess a major sport in Beersheba. The city is now Israel's national chess center, with more chess grandmasters per capita than any other city in the world. Israel Central Bureau of Statistics . 2012 .

Israel municipality Beersheba ( / b ɪər ˈ ʃ iː b ə / ; Be'er Sheva , , lit. Well of the Oath ) is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel . Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the center of the fourth most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth most populous Israeli city with a population of 223,587, and the second largest city (after Jerusalem) with a total area of 117,500 dunams . The Biblical period references to Beersheba refer to a site, Tel Be'er Sheva , lying some 2 and a half miles distant from the modern city, which was established at the start of the 20th century when a permanent settlement was established by the Ottoman Turks . The city was captured by the British led Australian Light Horse in the Battle of Beersheba (1917) during World War I . In 1947, Bir Seb'a ( ), as it was known, was envisioned as part of the Arab state in the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine . Following the declaration of Israel's independence, the Egyptian army amassed its forces in Beersheba as a strategic and logistical base. In the Battle of Beersheba waged in October 1948, it was conquered by the Israel Defense Forces . A large portion of the population is made up of the descendants of Sephardi Jews and Mizrahi Jews who immigrated from Arab countries after 1948, as well as smaller communities of Bene Israel and Cochin Jews from India . Second and third waves of immigration have taken place since 1990, bringing Russian-speaking Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union , as well as Beta Israel immigrants from Ethiopia . The Soviet immigrants have made the game of chess a major sport in Beersheba and the city is now a developing technology center. The city is now Israel's national chess center, with more chess grandmasters per capita than any other city in the world, making it the chess capital of the world in some regards. Beersheba is home to Ben-Gurion University of the Negev . This city also serves as a center for Israel's high-tech industry . Israel Central Bureau of Statistics .

City in Israel Beersheba or Beer Sheva , officially Be'er-Sheva ( , ; ), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel . Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth-most populous Israeli city with a population of 223,587, and the second-largest city in the area (after Jerusalem ), with a total area of 117,500 dunams (45 mi / 117.5 km ). The Biblical site of Beersheba is Tel Be'er Sheva , lying some 4 km distant from the modern city, which was established at the start of the 20th century by the Ottoman Turks . The city was captured by the British-led Australian Light Horse in the Battle of Beersheba during World War I . The population of the town was completely changed in 1948–49. Bir Seb'a ( ), as it was then known, had been almost entirely Muslim and Christian, and was designated to be part of the Arab state in the 1947 United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine . In October 1948 it was captured by the Israel Defense Forces and the Arab population was expelled. Today, the metropolitan area is composed of approximately equal Jewish and Arab populations, but the population of the core area is almost exclusively Jewish with a large portion of the population made up of the descendants of Sephardi Jews and Mizrahi Jews who were expelled from Arab countries after 1948 as well as smaller communities of Bene Israel and Cochin Jews from India. Second and third waves of immigration have taken place since 1990, bringing Russian-speaking immigrants from the former Soviet Union as well as Beta Israel immigrants from Ethiopia . The Soviet immigrants have made the game of chess a major sport in Beersheba, and it is now Israel's national chess center, with more chess grandmasters per capita than any other city in the world. Beersheba is home to Ben-Gurion University of the Negev . This city also serves as a center for Israel's high-tech and developing technology industry . The city has constructed over 250 roundabouts, earning its moniker as the "Roundabouts Capital of the Israel" and the largest number of roundabouts in the world. Israel Central Bureau of Statistics .

City in Israel This article is about the city in Israel. City in Israel Beersheba ( / b ɪər ˈ ʃ iː b ə / beer- SHEE -bə ; Hebrew : בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע , romanized : Bəʾēr Šeḇaʿ ‍ ), officially Be'er-Sheva ( / b ɛər ˈ ʃ ɛ v ə / bear- SHEH -və ), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel . Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth-most populous Israeli city with a population of 223,587, and the second-largest city in the area (after Jerusalem ), with a total area of 117,500 dunams (117.5 square kilometres). Human habitation near present-day Beersheba dates back to the fourth millennium BC. In the Bible, Beersheba marks the southern boundary of ancient Israel , as mentioned in the phrase " From Dan to Beersheba ." Initially assigned to the Tribe of Judah , Beersheba was later reassigned to Simeon . During the monarchic era , it functioned as a royal city but eventually faced destruction at the hands of the Assyrians . The Biblical site of Beersheba is Tel Be'er Sheva , lying some 4 kilometres ( 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles) distant from the modern city, which was established at the start of the 20th century by the Ottomans . The city was captured by the British-led Australian Light Horse troops in the Battle of Beersheba during World War I . The population of the town was completely changed in 1948–49 during the First Arab–Israeli War . Beersheba had been almost entirely Muslim, and the 1947 UN Partition Plan designated it to be part of the Arab state . It was occupied by the Egyptian army from May 1948 until October 1948 when it was captured by the Israel Defense Forces and part of the Arab population was expelled . Today, the metropolitan area is composed of approximately equal Jewish and Arab populations, with a large portion of the Jewish population made up of the descendants of Sephardi Jews and Mizrahi Jews who fled, relocated or were expelled from Arab countries after Israel's founding in 1948, as well as smaller communities of Bene Israel and Cochin Jews from India. Second and third waves of immigration have taken place since 1990, bringing Russian-speaking immigrants from the former Soviet Union as well as Beta Israel immigrants from Ethiopia . The Soviet immigrants have made the game of chess a major sport in Beersheba, and it is now Israel's national chess center, with more chess grandmasters per capita than any other city in the world. Beersheba is home to Ben-Gurion University of the Negev . This city also serves as a center for Israel's high-tech and developing technology industry . Israel Central Bureau of Statistics . Historical dictionary of ancient Israel . Historical dictionaries of ancient civilizations and historical eras. There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).