Dimona 5.77

Dimona is an Israeli city in the Negev desert, 36km to the south of Beersheba and 35km west of the Dead Sea above the Arava valley in the Southern District of Israel. In its population was.EtymologyThe city's name is derived from a biblical town, mentioned in Joshua 15:21-22.HistoryDimona was one of the development towns created in the 1950s under the leadership of Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion. Dimona itself was conceived in 1953. The location chosen was close to the Dead Sea Works. It was established in 1955. The first residents were Jewish immigrants from North Africa, with an initial 36 families being the first to settle there. Its population in 1955 was about 300. The North African immigrants also constructed the city's houses. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, immigrants from Eastern Europe arrived. A textile factory was opened in 1958. That same year, Dimona became a local council. In 1961, it had a population of 5,000. The emblem of Dimona (as a local council), adopted 2 March 1961, appeared on a stamp issued on 24 March 1965. Dimona was declared a city in 1969. In 1971, it had a population of 23,700.When the Israeli nuclear program started in 1958, a location not far from the city was chosen for the Negev Nuclear Research Center due to its relative isolation in the desert and availability of housing. This has resulted in Dimona widely being identified with the Israeli nuclear program.