It turns out the Jewish National Fund (JNF) runs a tour bus (if you are already in Israel) every Wednesday to the Negev (among other places).  Since I hadn’t been to Beer Sheva in about 25 years, I thought this would be a great way to get reacquainted with the region.

We arrived at the JNF Jerusalem office at 7:30 to take the bus tour.  There were about 10 of us going on the trip.

First stop was Rechovot.  It’s in central Israel about 12 km south of Tel Aviv.  Why Rechovot?

To teach us about a remarkable factory (of sorts) that was critical to the Independence War of Israel.  The Ayalon Institute.

So, this was an underground- hidden from British- ammunition factory on the grounds of Givat Kibutzim.  It was constructed by digging a tennis court sized structure and covering it with dirt.  The tunnel entrances were covered by washing machines, which is theoretically what the function of the structure was.

Some 45 members (mostly women) would leave the kibutz (theoretically) each morning to produce bread. Once they left the grounds, one by one they’d sneak back into the kibbutz and enter into the underground facility.

There they produced 12000 nine (9) mm bullets a day.  (The Sten machine gun, the staple of the Defense forces, used those bullets).  The cover story for the factory’s need for brass was that lipstick was being produced and the case required lots of brass.

Once we finished the tour, we got back on the bus and headed to Be’er Sheva.  This is the largest city in the Negev (having grown to some 225,000 residents, with hopes of approaching 1,000,000 residents within a few years).

Note that Be’er Sheva is in the middle of the desert.  But, the Jewish National Fund (along with the national water company, Mekorot) has been providing reused water to help the desert bloom- including the development of water parks.

Then, it was time to eat.  We were taken to a kosher restaurant, which served duck, turkey, chicken, and vegetarian dishes.  Like the St. George (which we discussed on Monday), a veritable spread of appetizers abounded.

While there, one of the other tourists said he knew me.  He spent time in Charlottesville and recognized me from my efforts in starting and running the synagogue services in the 1970s and 1980s (from scratch).  Talk about Jewish geography!

Because of the war in Gaza, we had to alter our next destination.  The roads approaching Gaza were closed for safety, so we visited what was claimed to be Abraham’s well in Be’er Sheva.  (The name- Be’er Sheva means well or spring of the covenant; Avraham and the King of G’rar- Avimelech entered into an agreement, with the well being opened for all visitors.)

This site clearly dates to the Islamic times.  But, it could probably be a rebuilt version of Avraham’s well.  After all, Yitzchak (Isaac), Avraham’s son, had to rebuild the well when he lived in Be’er Sheva.  The current well is about 4 m in diameter and 13 meters deep.

This was the final stop on the tour, so  then we returned to Jerusalem.