The Monument to the Negev Brigade

This monument commemorates the capturing of Be’er Sheva (Beersheba) and the achievements of the Negev Brigade of the Palmach (the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the Jewish underground army, during the British Mandate in this country) during the 1948 Israeli War of Independence. The monument is situated on a hill overlooking the city of Be’er Sheva and constitutes one of the recognized symbols of the Negev and Be’er Sheva. The monumemt was designed and built by the sculptor Dani Karavan between 1963 and 1968, and it is made of raw concrete consisting of eighteen separate elements, which are symbolic of the Palmach and of the War of Independence. The concrete sheet reminiscent of the Palmach tent, the perforated tower alluding to watchtowers which were shelled with gunfire, a pipeline tunnel suggesting the channel of water in the Negev defended by the soldiers and trenches which remind one of military communication trenches, etc. The Monument to the Negev Brigade is a good stopping point on the way south, where children can enjoy a climb and a crawl on top and in between the structures.