Combating desertification: evolving perceptions and strategies

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

WHEN DAVID BEN-GURION stunned the nation in 1953 and moved to Sede Boqer, a newly formed, remote southern kibbutz, it was a radical statement from a radical leader reflecting the depth of his personal commitment to conquering the Negev desert. Ben-Gurion was obsessed with what he perceived to be the neglected state of Israel's southlands-an area that included some 60 percent of the country's area, but only a tiny fraction of its people. After leading his nation through a war of independence, it was as if he had decided to personally wage war against his country's hot and desolate desert: "If the state does not exterminate the desert.. the desert will exterminate the state" was his grim battle cry.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationBetween Ruin and Restoration
Subtitle of host publicationAn Environmental History of Israel
EditorsChar Miller, Daniel E Orenstein, Tal Alon
Pages106-128
Number of pages23
Volume9780822978114
ISBN (Electronic)9780822978114
StatePublished - 2013

Publication series

NameHistory of the urban environment
PublisherUniversity of Pittsburgh Press

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Arts and Humanities

RAMBI publications

  • rambi
  • Desertification -- Government policy -- Israel

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