The Ben-Gurions' tombs at the Ben Gurion Tomb National Park
There are two places called Sde Boker, a distance of 4 km from each other. One is Kibbutz Sde Boker. This was where David and Paula Ben-Gurion lived for 12 years or so and his home can be visited. This also has an hotel, restaurant and cafe. The other is Midreshet Sde Boker. This is a community settlement and a hub for academic research and environmental education. It includes research centers of the Ben Gurion University, a boarding high school that focuses on environmental issues, and the Ben‑Gurion Heritage Institute. However, most people will come here to view the tombs of the Ben-Gurions in the Ben Gurion Tomb National Park and to experience the magnificent view over the Sin Valley. There are also resturants here.
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A covered shopping area has several restaurants, including a kosher felafel place, an ice-cream bar, and a small supermarket. One can picnic on the green lawn adjacent to the shopping center. The Ben-Gurion Promenade extends from the shopping center to the tombs of David and Paula Ben-Gurion and offers stupendous views overlooking the Sin Valley. After the tombs, one can continue for a short walk through a desert garden. It ends at a parking lot by the entrance to Midreshet Sde Boker and is worthwhile doing.
​Directions: Enter “Ben Gurion’s Tomb National Park” into Waze and click on “רחבת קבר דוד ופולה בן גוריון“ . There is no admission charge.
Admission: There is no entrance fee. There is a covered shopping center with restaurants. Also, an open green lawn in front of the shopping center. This is their website:
Public transport: Enter “ צריף בן גוריון “ into Moovit. There are buses from Be’ersheva.
Notice on the tomb stones the dates of David and Paula’s Aliyah to then Palestine. For them, their date of aliyah was as much a birth as emerging from the womb.
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Having visited David Ben-Gurion’s former home and viewed the movies, this is an opportune time to reflect on his legacy and his insistence that the Negev be a vital part of the State of Israel. But why be buried here rather than in Mount Herzl, where other leaders of the state were buried? I heard a nice idea from a tour guide. This area, the wilderness of Zin, was a way-station for the Children of Israel before they entered the land of Canaan (Numbers 20:1). Ben-Gurion was very much into biblical studies and engaged in weekly seminars. He may have appreciated the symbolism of his being part of Jewish history and an important actor in a new beginning for the Jewish people from a place where there was nothing but desert.
The covered shopping center
The green lawn adjacent to the shopping center