“ the Negev is a great Zionist asset, with no substitute anywhere in the country. First of all, it constitutes half of the State of Israel… the Negev is a desolate area which is currently empty of people, and therein lies its importance. What it lacks is water and Jews, it has the potential to be densely populated, even amounting to millions… two million Jews can be settled there with agriculture, and two million with industry” (Ben-Gurion).
The “Or” movement is a program that’s main goal is to increase the population in the Negev and in Galilee. The Negev and Galilee make up 75 percent of Israel’s land area, but only 25 percent of Israel’s population live there. The “Or” movement has a plan to grow Israel’s population in this under-utilized area to twice its current size by 2048, Israel’s 100th year of statehood. Today we were educated about the ways the “Or” movement is going to turn these places into the place to live. We first started in their welcome center, a room full of technology with not a single printed brochure in sight. Without paper brochures we learned about the people in the Negev by going through an interactive digital exhibit with four separate stations. These stations were informative as well as persuasive, in ways that made you want to live in the Negev. Next we moved into a simulation room and were told that we were to design the future Negev. Our simulation could include anything imaginable that would bring more people to the region; increasing the population in a place that takes up 60 percent of Israel. My Negev design was focused on housing, nature, and education, the three things that all people look for when settling down. When the simulation was over my future Negev had a population of 1,035,000 people, almost double what the population is now.
Once we finished our simulation it was time for a speaker. We were introduced to a woman from New Jersey whose family made Aliyah when she was younger. She had a presentation about the “Or” program, starting with its founders: two men who decided to travel Israel after the army instead of traveling abroad which is what Israelis normally would do. They then established the “Or” program in 2002, and since have moved 38,850 people to the Negev and Galilee. The program’s goal is to move thousands more to these underpopulated regions through strategy, community, and awareness. This will provide space for Israel’s population to grow. This is how their goal will be reached, and how 16 million people will be living in a more populated Israel.