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53-433: Established as a development town in 1955, Ofakim was for many years a major textile manufacturing center. Outsourcing of textile manufacturing outside Israel caused economic stagnation, and Ofakim suffered high poverty and unemployment rates for many years. Since then, new factories have moved in, and the city is currently undergoing major development. Ofakim was the scene of fighting between Hamas terrorists who infiltrated

106-500: A lot of the people at Haaretz , and many of its positions, but the cartoonish anti-Israelism and anti-Semitism can be grating." In 2022, a TGI survey found that Haaretz was the newspaper with the third largest readership in Israel, with an exposure rate of 4.7%, below Israel Hayom 's rate of 31% and Yedioth Ahronoth 's 23.9%. Haaretz uses smaller headlines and print than other mass circulation papers in Israel . Less space

159-540: A matriculation certificate. One of Israel's 14 tennis centers is located in Ofakim. It opened in 1990 and has six courts. The city also has a soccer stadium. The Nahal Shomriya cycling route around Ofakim was inaugurated in 2010. The 60-centimeter-wide single route winds through 1,500 dunams (approx 375 acres) in Ofakim Forest, passing through Nahal Shomriya and Nahal Patish, and looping around eight local moshavim . Ofakim

212-744: A moderate stance on foreign policy and security. David Remnick in The New Yorker described Haaretz as "easily the most liberal newspaper in Israel", its ideology as left-wing and its temper as "insistently oppositional". According to Ira Sharkansky , Haaretz ' s op-ed pages are open to a variety of opinions. J. J. Goldberg , the editor of the American The Jewish Daily Forward , describes Haaretz as "Israel's most vehemently anti- settlement daily paper". Stephen Glain of The Nation described Haaretz as "Israel's liberal beacon", citing its editorials voicing opposition to

265-571: A staff writer that said the Israeli religious right was worse than Hezbollah . Condemnation followed, including from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , President Reuven Rivlin , and other government ministers and MPs , as well as from Opposition Leader Isaac Herzog . On 31 October 2024, Haaretz 's publisher Amos Schocken made remarks during a speech at a Haaretz conference in London criticising

318-551: A youth center which included a cinema were built. Ofakim Railway Station was completed in December 2015 with a car park for 1,000 cars. Next to the train station, a new neighborhood specially designed to have affordable prices for young people, is being built as part of the "Noah Initiative", which was started by activists from Tel Aviv . In 2017, a new agreement was signed to build 14,436 housing units in four new neighborhoods and one established neighborhood, which will greatly increase

371-461: Is Israel's newspaper of record . It is known for its left-wing and liberal stances on domestic and foreign issues. As of 2022, Haaretz has the third-largest circulation in Israel. It is widely read by international observers, especially in its English edition, and discussed in the international press. According to the Center for Research Libraries , among Israel's daily newspapers, " Haaretz

424-551: Is accessible by Highway 25 and Route 241. Ofakim is connected to the Trans-Israel Highway via Highway 264. The Ashkelon–Beersheba railway , a new railway line which connected Ofakim with Tel Aviv and Beersheba , was inaugurated in August 2015, which finally connected the railway line between Ashkelon and Beersheba. The Ofakim railway station was opened on December 31, 2015. The rail line connects Ofakim to Beersheba in

477-583: Is considered the most influential and respected for both its news coverage and its commentary." Haaretz was first published in 1918 as a newspaper sponsored by the British military government in Palestine . In 1919, it was taken over by a group of socialist-oriented Zionists , mainly from Russia . The newspaper was established on 18 June 1919 by a group of businessmen including the philanthropist Isaac Leib Goldberg , initially called Hadashot Ha'aretz ("News of

530-400: Is devoted to pictures, and more to political analysis . Opinion columns are generally written by regular commentators rather than guest writers. Its editorial pages are considered influential among government leaders. Apart from the news, Haaretz publishes feature articles on social and environmental issues, as well as book reviews, investigative reporting, and political commentary. In 2008,

583-450: The 1950s in order to provide permanent housing for a large influx of Jewish immigrants from Arab countries , Holocaust survivors from Europe and other new immigrants, who arrived to the newly established State of Israel . The towns were designed to expand the population of the country's peripheral areas while easing pressure on the crowded centre. Most of them were built in the Galilee in

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636-497: The Bedouin residents were engaged in growing wheat, barley, and melon as well as raising sheep and goats. The hamlet was located along Beersheba - Gaza highway, a strategic location in land of Bedouin tribes whose inter-tribal clashes were a source of worry, prompted Ottomans to build a military fort nearby, the Patish (Futais) fort . By mid-July, during the 1948 War ( Operation An-Far ),

689-482: The Israeli Interior Ministry dismissed Ofakim mayor Avi Asaraf and his entire city council from their posts for failing to implement a recovery plan for Ofakim. Zvika Greengold became the new mayor. Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, Ofakim gradually saw improvements in its economy. Tax incentives were given to open new factories in Ofakim, and a branch of MATI, an organization that supports small businesses,

742-432: The Israeli government ordered a boycott of Haaretz by government officials and anyone working for a government-funded body, and banned government advertising with the newspaper. According to The Guardian , Haaretz "had published a series of investigations of wrongdoing or abuses by senior officials and the armed forces , and has long been in the crosshairs of the current government." The newspaper's editorial policy

795-600: The Land [of Israel] ' ) is an Israeli newspaper . It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew and English in the Berliner format, and is also available online. In North America , it is published as a weekly newspaper , combining articles from the Friday edition with a roundup from the rest of the week. Haaretz

848-538: The Land"). Later, the name was shortened to Haaretz . The literary section of the paper attracted leading Hebrew writers of the time. The newspaper was initially published in Jerusalem . From 1919 to 1922, the paper was headed by a succession of editors, among them Leib Yaffe . It was closed briefly due to a budgetary shortfall and reopened in Tel Aviv at the beginning of 1923 under the editorship of Moshe Glickson, who held

901-560: The Netanyahu government for allegedly imposing an apartheid regime on the Palestinian population and referring to "Palestinian freedom fighters that Israel calls terrorists." In response, the Israeli interior , education , diaspora ministries severed ties with Haaretz while the Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi advocated a boycott of the newspaper covering all government bodies and employees. By 4 November,

954-511: The Palestinian territories and elsewhere, and blogs covering a range of political standpoints and opinions. The two sites fall under the supervision of Lior Kodner, the head of digital media for the Haaretz Group. Individually, Simon Spungin is the editor of Haaretz.com (English) and Avi Scharf is the editor of Haaretz.co.il (Hebrew). The Haaretz building is on Schocken Street in south Tel Aviv . The former Haaretz building of 1932–1973

1007-522: The Schocken family reach 75% ownership, with the remaining 25% owned by Leonid Nevzlin. In October 2012, a union strike mobilized to protest planned layoffs by the Haaretz management, causing a one-day interruption of Haaretz and its TheMarker business supplement. According to Israel Radio , it was the first time since 1965 that a newspaper did not go to press on account of a strike. On 24 November 2024,

1060-509: The Southeast, and to Ashkelon and beyond to Greater Tel Aviv in the Northwest. Ben Gurion Airport , the closest major international airport, is located about 101km North from Ofakim, which can be accessed via a drive along the Trans-Israel Highway . The city has begun to develop from 2015 onward after years of stagnation. Thousands of new housing units, commercial and employment centers, and

1113-465: The United States, as a newspaper of record . In 2007, Shmuel Rosner , Haaretz 's former U.S. correspondent, told The Nation , "people who read it are better educated and more sophisticated than most, but the rest of the country doesn't know it exists." According to Hanoch Marmari, a former Haaretz editor, the newspaper has lost its political influence in Israel because it became "detached" from

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1166-479: The aftermath of the establishment of the state in 1948, Israel's population doubled within two years to 1.2 million, as Holocaust survivors and Jews from Muslim countries immigrated in large numbers. At the end of 1949 around 90,000 Jews were housed in ma'abarot , immigrant and refugee absorption camps. By the end of 1951 the number had risen to over 220,000 in around 125 separate communities. The housing consisted of tents and makeshift shacks of tin or wood. Over 80% of

1219-422: The chief editor in 1939 and held that position until his death in 1990. The Schocken family were the sole owners of the Haaretz Group until August 2006, when they sold a 25% stake to German publisher M. DuMont Schauberg . The deal was negotiated with the help of the former Israeli ambassador to Germany, Avi Primor . This deal was seen as controversial in Israel as DuMont Schauberg's father, Kurt Neven DuMont ,

1272-477: The city and Israeli forces in a stand-off during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war ; the IDF cleared the city of Hamas terrorists the following day. Prior to 1948, the area was known as Khirbat Futais ( Arabic : خربة فطيس ), a Bedouin hamlet populated by members of Al-Qadirat clan of Al-Tiyaha tribe, located along "Wadi Futeis", a seasonal river that drains into wadi Gaza . The hamlet consisted of several mud houses, and

1325-558: The city's population. In addition, the agreement stipulated the development of an industrial zone in southern Ofakim, increased funding for infrastructure and urban renewal projects, and the construction of a new road between Ofakim and Ramon Airport . The plan aims to double the city's population. High-rise construction of buildings up to 13 stories is also planned. Development town Development towns ( Hebrew : עיירת פיתוח , Ayarat Pitu'ah ) were new settlements built in Israel during

1378-508: The country's only major left-leaning newspaper. The paper opposes retaining Israeli control over the Palestinian territories and consistently supports peace initiatives. The Haaretz editorial line is supportive of weaker elements in Israeli society, such as sex workers, foreign laborers, Israeli Arabs , Ethiopian immigrants , and Russian immigrants . In 2006, the BBC said that Haaretz takes

1431-781: The country's political life. Andrea Levin , executive director of the pro-Israel Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA), said Haaretz was doing "damage to the truth" and sometimes making serious factual errors without correcting them. According to The Jerusalem Post , Haaretz editor-in-chief David Landau said at the 2007 Limmud conference in Moscow that he had told his staff not to report on criminal investigations against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in order to promote Sharon's 2004–2005 Gaza disengagement plan . In April 2017, Haaretz published an op-ed by

1484-765: The exception of Arad, most of the towns (particularly those in the south) have fared poorly in the economic sense, and often feature amongst the poorest Jewish Areas in Israel. In 1984 the Development Towns project was awarded the Israel Prize for its special contribution to society and the State of Israel. Center Galilee and Valleys Negev Haaretz Haaretz ( Hebrew : הָאָרֶץ lit.   ' The Land [of Israel] ' , originally Ḥadshot Haaretz – Hebrew : חַדְשׁוֹת הָאָרֶץ , IPA: [χadˈʃot haˈʔaʁets] lit.   ' News of

1537-415: The following morning. A total of 47 residents of the city were killed in fighting in the city as well as elsewhere in southern Israel. In Ofakim 27 residents and including six police were killed in the fighting. In 2010, about one-fifth of the residents were ultra-Orthodox and one third were immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Most of the rest were members and descendants of the founding generation of

1590-452: The following years, 170 Jewish families from Iran arrived, as did additional immigrants from India and Romania . In 1958, Ofakim was granted local council status. In the late 1950s, the construction industry was still the main employer, and some residents also worked in agriculture nearby, but industry also began to be established in Ofakim, starting with a diamond polishing plant, followed by two textile factories that opened in 1959. At

1643-401: The highest unemployment rate in 2004, at slightly over 14%. In 2008, Haaretz reported: "Nearly one-third of the inhabitants are supported by the welfare department and hundreds of families receive aid, including food, from non-profit organizations. Many of the inhabitants in their 50s and 60s have been dreaming of fleeing Ofakim since they were 20. When they retire, they leave." In the 2007,

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1696-524: The immigrants who arrived in the town in the 1950s and 1960s. In addition, there are small communities of Ethiopian Jews and Palestinians originally from the Gaza Strip who were resettled in Israel after collaborating with Israeli authorities. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics , Ofakim had a population of 30,662 in 2019, and the population is growing at a rate of 1.4% a year. The percentage of

1749-568: The industry employed by far the most workers, ranging from 72% (1982–83) to 82% (1972). The Of–Ar (short for Ofakim– Argentina ) textile factory was a major employer. In 1983, the population had grown to 12,600. Ofakim's economy declined after Israeli textile manufacturers began closing their factories in Israel to move their production to other countries with lower labor costs, mainly in Southwest Asia, and to Egypt and Jordan after Israel signed peace treaties with those two countries. Starting in

1802-454: The mainly unskilled or semi-skilled veteran population, they were better able to get the few jobs available. The city also absorbed immigrants from Ethiopia during this time. A few more plants moved into the city in the 1990s, including an electronics factory in 1996, but unemployment remained high. Ofakim gained a reputation as an economically depressed city in Israel. In 1997, it had the highest unemployment rate in Israel, at 15.3%. It also had

1855-460: The mid-1980s, the city's textile mills began to shut down, with the last one closing in 1995, rendering much of the population unemployed. In the early 1990s, during the mass migration of Jews from the former Soviet Union to Israel, more than 7,000 Soviet immigrants arrived in Ofakim, and were provided with heavily subsidized housing. This fueled further competition for jobs, and due to the fact that Soviet immigrants were typically better educated than

1908-539: The newspaper had received hundreds of cancellation and subscription termination requests, and a decline in advertising revenue. Several ministries had requested to cancel their subscriptions, with the Israeli foreign ministry cancelling 90 subscriptions. Following significant criticism, Schocken retracted his remarks. Haaretz operates both Hebrew and English language websites. The two sites offer up-to-the-minute breaking news, live Q&A sessions with newsmakers from Israel,

1961-767: The newspaper itself reported a paid subscribership of 65,000, daily sales of 72,000 copies, and 100,000 on weekends. The English edition has a subscriber base of 15,000. Despite its historically relatively low circulation in Israel, Haaretz has for many years been described as Israel's most influential daily newspaper. In 2006, it exposed a scandal regarding professional and ethical standards at Israeli hospitals. Its readership includes members of Israel's intelligentsia and members of its political and economic elites. In 1999, surveys showed that Haaretz readership had above-average education, income, and wealth, and that most were Ashkenazi Jews . Some have said that Haaretz functions in Israel much as The New York Times does in

2014-532: The north of Israel, and in the northern Negev desert in the south. In addition to the new towns, Jerusalem was also given development town status in the 1960s. In the context of the Arab–Israeli conflict , Jewish refugees from Arab states were initially resettled in refugee camps , known variously as immigrant camps , ma'abarot and development towns. Development towns were subsequently considered by some to be places of relegation and marginalisation. In

2067-636: The occupation, the discriminatory treatment of Arab citizens, and the mindset that led to the Second Lebanon War . A 2003 study in The International Journal of Press/Politics concluded that Haaretz ' s reporting of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict was more favorable to Israelis than to Palestinians but less so than that of The New York Times . In 2016, Jeffrey Goldberg , the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic , wrote: "I like

2120-451: The population was also religious or traditional, with a 2003 survey showing that 39% of residents would rather Israel be run more by halakhic law . Many towns gained a new influx of residents during the mass immigration from former Soviet states in the early 1990s. By 1998 130,000 Russian-speaking immigrants lived in development towns. Despite businesses and industries being eligible for favorable tax treatment and other subsidies, with

2173-524: The post for 15 years. The Tel Aviv municipality granted the paper financial support by paying in advance for future advertisements. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Haaretz ' s liberal viewpoint was to some degree associated with the General Zionist "A" faction, which later helped form the Progressive Party , though it was nonpartisan and careful not to espouse any specific party line. It

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2226-565: The residents were Jewish refugees from Arab and Muslim countries of Middle East and North Africa . The numbers began to decline in 1952 and the last ma'abarot were closed around 1963. Over time the ma'abarot metamorphosed into towns or were absorbed as neighbourhoods of the towns they were attached to, and residents were provided with permanent housing. Most of the ma'abarot became development towns, with Kiryat Shmona , Sderot , Beit She'an , Yokneam Illit , Or Yehuda and Migdal HaEmek all originating as ma'abarot. The first development town

2279-471: The same time, the town's streets were paved, public parks were established, and schools were founded. In 1961, the population was 4,600. As in other development towns , the industrial sector historically played an important part in Ofakim's economy. In 1972, 32% of the salaried workers (754 people) were in this sector, and in 1983—924 people (23%). During this period, the textile industry grew to dominate Ofakim's economy. Numerous textile plants were set up, and

2332-502: The share of the Arab Palestinian population of Ofakim is very small and about 0.7%. In 2013, about 40% of Ofakim's residents worked in the city. There were about 20 factories in Ofakim on 2,000 dunams of land. Some residents also work in high-tech. In 2001, there were 21 schools and 4,704 students in the city – 13 elementary schools (3,079 students), and 8 high schools (1,625 students). 43.3% of 12th grade students were entitled to

2385-649: The village fell to the IDF , and the local Bedouin fled to Al-Muharraqa , from which they were expelled to Gaza Strip . The abandoned Bedouin village was destroyed by the IDF in September or October 1948 for reasons that were described as "military". Ofakim was established in 1955 as an urban center for the rural communities in the area adjacent to the Ottoman fort and on the site of Khirbat Futais. The first inhabitants were immigrants from Morocco and Tunisia . The population in 1955

2438-428: Was Beit Shemesh , founded in 1950 around 20 km from Jerusalem. The newly established towns were mostly populated by Jewish refugees from Arab and Muslim countries – Morocco , Iraq , Iran , Egypt , Libya , Yemen , Syria and Tunisia . Development towns were also populated by Holocaust survivors from Europe and Jewish immigrants, who came to the newly established State of Israel. According to Khazzoom, there

2491-517: Was a member of the governing editorial board and a columnist with the paper from 1951 to 1995. Haaretz describes itself as having "a broadly liberal outlook both on domestic issues and on international affairs", and has been summarized as being "liberal on security, civil rights and economy, supportive of the Supreme Court, very critical of Netanyahu's government". Others describe it alternatively as liberal , centre-left , left-wing , and

2544-415: Was a significant relationship between ethnicity and the likelihood of being placed in a development town, with many of the small number of Ashkenazi Jews sent to the towns returning to central Israel. By the 1960s and 1970s, 85–90 percent of development town residents were Mizrahi Jews , leading to an association between Mizrahi identity, peripheral location, and economic deprivation. A high proportion of

2597-463: Was about 600. The inhabitants initially lived in huts and tin shacks, but the construction of permanent housing proceeded rapidly, and the construction industry was the main source of income during the early years. In late 1956, after Jewish refugees expelled from Egypt following the Suez Crisis arrived in Israel, 150 Egyptian-Jewish immigrant families, including some Karaite Jews , came to Ofakim. In

2650-663: Was considered the most sophisticated of the Yishuv 's dailies. Salman Schocken , a Jewish businessman who left Germany in 1934 after the Nazis had come to power, bought the paper in December 1935. Schocken was active in Brit Shalom , also known as the Jewish–Palestinian Peace Alliance, a body supporting co-existence between Jews and Arabs which was sympathetic to a homeland for both peoples. His son, Gershom Schocken , became

2703-512: Was defined by Gershom Schocken , who was editor-in-chief from 1939 to 1990. Schocken was succeeded as editor-in-chief by Hanoch Marmari. In 2004 David Landau replaced Marmari and was succeeded by Dov Alfon in 2008. The current editor-in-chief of the newspaper is Aluf Benn , who replaced Alfon in August 2011. Charlotte Halle became editor of the English print edition in February 2008. Walter Gross

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2756-516: Was member of the Nazi Party and his publishing house promoted Nazi ideology. On 12 June 2011, it was announced that Russian-Israeli businessman Leonid Nevzlin had purchased a 20% stake in the Haaretz Group, buying 15% from the family and 5% from M. DuMont Schauberg. In December 2019, members of the Schocken family bought all of the Haaretz stock belonging to M. DuMont Schauberg. The deal saw

2809-408: Was opened. The high-tech industry also entered Ofakim. The city is currently undergoing a series of major development projects. Ofakim was infiltrated by Hamas forces on 7 October during the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel . The subsequent Battle of Ofakim saw police, armed residents, and off-duty soldiers battle the militants before IDF reinforcements arrived. The city was declared as cleared early

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