Netivot

Netivot is a small city in the Negev region of Israel.

Understand

Netivot was founded in 1956 to house new immigrants from North Africa. Its current population is around 31,000.

Get in

By train

• 1 Netivot railway station. Opened in 2015, this station sees service through Israel Railways. One of the two train lines between Tel Aviv and Beer Sheva runs through Netivot. Trains run every 30 to 60 minutes during the day. The trains also stop at a number of other cities near the coast or in the Negev - Bat Yam, Rishon LeTzion, Yavneh, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Sderot, and Ofakim - along the way.  

The Netivot train station is on the outskirts of the city, and you will then probably need a local bus or taxi to your destination.

By bus

Various bus routes reach Netivot from Beer Sheva (about every 15 minutes), Ashkelon (about every 15 minutes), and Tel Aviv (about every 30 minutes).

These routes are somewhat slower than the train, but most of them make a circuit through Netivot, so you can get off closer to your destination.

Get around

Netivot is about a 20 minute walk across. In summer, this can be quite unpleasant.

There are 5 local bus routes. All of them begin at the train station and end in the eastern commercial zone, serving various residential neighborhoods along the way.

Route 1 serves the Baba Sali's tomb. However, on the anniversary of his death, there are likely to be special bus arrangements due to the volume of the crowds.

Do

Netivot is pretty boring 364 days a year. Its claim to fame is the burial place of the Baba Sali, a Moroccan-Israeli rabbi who died in 1984. Once a year, on the Hebrew date of his death, thousands of followers descend on Netivot to commemorate him at the 1 Baba Sali's grave. It is a unique example of Moroccan-Sephardic Jewish culture. It takes place on the Hebrew date 4 Shevat (which falls out each year in January or early February), as well as the night before.

Go next

• Beer Sheva