Development towns (, ''Ayarat Pitu'ah'') were new settlements built in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

during the 1950s in order to provide permanent housing for a large influx of Jewish immigrants from Arab countries,

Holocaust survivors Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universall ...

from Europe and other new immigrants, who arrived to the newly established

State of Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. The towns were designed to expand the population of the country's peripheral areas while easing pressure on the crowded centre. Most of them were built in the Galilee in the north of Israel, and in the northern Negev desert in the south. In addition to the new towns,

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

was also given development town status in the 1960s. In the context of the

Arab–Israeli conflict The Arab–Israeli conflict is a geopolitical phenomenon involving military conflicts and a variety of disputes between Israel and many Arab world, Arab countries. It is largely rooted in the historically supportive stance of the Arab League ...

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from Arab states were initially resettled in refugee camps, known variously as immigrant camps, '' ma'abarot'' and development towns. Development towns were subsequently considered by some to be places of relegation and marginalisation.

Background

In the aftermath of the establishment of the state in 1948, Israel's population doubled within two years to 1.2 million, as Holocaust survivors and Jews from Muslim countries immigrated in large numbers. At the end of 1949 around 90,000 Jews were housed in ma'abarot, immigrant and refugee absorption camps. By the end of 1951 the number had risen to over 220,000 in around 125 separate communities.Ma'abarot
Israeli Center for Educational Technology The housing consisted of tents and makeshift shacks of tin or wood. Over 80% of the residents were Jewish refugees from Arab and Muslim countries of

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

and

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

. The numbers began to decline in 1952 and the last ma'abarot were closed around 1963. Over time the ma'abarot metamorphosed into towns or were absorbed as neighbourhoods of the towns they were attached to, and residents were provided with permanent housing. Most of the ma'abarot became development towns, with Kiryat Shmona, Sderot,

Beit She'an Beit She'an ( '), also known as Beisan ( '), or Beth-shean, is a town in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. The town lies at the Beit She'an Valley about 120 m (394 feet) below sea level. Beit She'an is believed to ...

, Yokneam Illit, Or Yehuda and Migdal HaEmek all originating as ma'abarot.

Establishment

The first development town was Beit Shemesh, founded in 1950 around 20 km from Jerusalem. The newly established towns were mostly populated by Jewish refugees from Arab and Muslim countries –

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Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

and

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. Development towns were also populated by

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

survivors from Europe and Jewish immigrants, who came to the newly established State of Israel. According to Khazzoom, there was a significant relationship between ethnicity and the likelihood of being placed in a development town, with many of the small number of

Ashkenazi Jews Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium CE. They traditionally speak Yiddish, a language ...

sent to the towns returning to central Israel.Erez Tzfadia & Oren Yiftachel (2003)
Between urban and national: Political mobilization among Mizrahim in Israel’s ‘development towns’
", ''Cities'', Vol. XX, No. XX, pp1-15 By the 1960s and 1970s, 85–90 percent of development town residents were

Mizrahi Jews Mizrahi Jews (), also known as ''Mizrahim'' () in plural and ''Mizrahi'' () in singular, and alternatively referred to as Oriental Jews or ''Edot HaMizrach'' (, ), are terms used in Israeli discourse to refer to a grouping of Jews, Jewish c ...

, leading to an association between Mizrahi identity, peripheral location, and economic deprivation. A high proportion of the population was also religious or traditional, with a 2003 survey showing that 39% of residents would rather Israel be run more by halakhic law. Many towns gained a new influx of residents during the mass immigration from former Soviet states in the early 1990s. By 1998 130,000 Russian-speaking immigrants lived in development towns.

Legacy

Despite businesses and industries being eligible for favorable tax treatment and other subsidies, with the exception of Arad, most of the towns (particularly those in the south) have fared poorly in the economic sense, and often feature amongst the poorest Jewish Areas in Israel.On Location: The deep south
''The Jerusalem Post'', 27 December 2007 In 1984 the Development Towns project was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...

for its special contribution to society and the State of Israel.

List of development towns

Center * Beit Shemesh * Or Yehuda *

Yavne Yavne () is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel. In 2022, it had a population of 56,232. Modern Yavne was established in 1949. It is located near the ruins of the ancient town of Yibna (known also as Jamnia and Jab ...

Galilee and Valleys *

* Karmiel * Hatzor HaGlilit * Kiryat Shmona * Migdal HaEmek * Nazareth Illit * Shlomi * Yokneam Illit Negev * Arad * Dimona * Kiryat Gat * Kiryat Malakhi * Mitzpe Ramon * Netivot * Ofakim * Sderot *

Yeruham Yeruham () is a local council (Israel), town in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel, in the Negev desert. It covers , and had a population of in . It is named after the Hebrew Bible, Biblical Jeroham. Until early 2011 th ...

References

{{reflist Planned communities Israel Prize for special contribution to society and the State recipients Israel Prize recipients that are organizations Refugee settlements Refugees in Israel

Background

Establishment

Legacy

List of development towns

See also

References