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“THE NEGEV DESERT DOES NOT HAVE TO REMAIN A BARREN DESERT”
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(ISRAEL.) BEN-GURION, DAVID. Autograph Letter Signed, “D. Ben-
Gurion,” to Hanan R. Jordan, in Hebrew, thanking him for birthday blessings and for his
donation to the Sde Boker field school, describing the changes to the Negev region after
the founding of Israel, and remarking that one of the roles of the field school is to ensure
Israel’s economic independence. 1 page, 8vo, ruled paper, “No. 10” stationery; evenly
toned, minor loss to lower right corner, mounted at upper corners verso to a larger sheet.
Np, 14 December 1971
[600/900]
“
. . . Negev was a barren desert . . . . With the establishment of the state, the pioneers . . .
proved that the Negev Desert does not have to remain a barren desert . . . . [S]everal agricul-
tural and urban communities . . . are now being established, and an important scientific project
was also established near Dimona [probably Israel’s nuclear reactor] . . . . [O]ur imports are
twice the amount of our exports and only large industrial plants in the Negev will guarantee
our economic independence.
“
This is one of the roles of our field school.”