ABSTRACT
Both strategic and ideological aims dictated that as many as possible of the newcomers should be channeled to settle in the harsh terrain of the Negev. The kibbutz had been established as an agricultural settlement in 1952. Upon reflection, even the reverse image of Tiffany's-inthe-Negev–that kibbutz oasis that dazzled the imagination of David Ben-Gurion–may prove something of a problematic achievement, even something of a mirage. Among the most visible of its achievements has been so-called savannization, a reversal of the desertification process in scattered patches of the Negev. The most promising agricultural achievement has been the development of species of plants capable of tolerating saline water, large reservoirs of which lie underneath the Negev. When the Negev breezes blow, pollutant-packed droplets spray over land and water for miles around.
