page_title: Arad, Israel
section_title: Culture
hierarchical_section_title: Arad, Israel / Culture
caption_attribution_description: Schaller Medical Centre in Arad, Israel
context_page_description: Arad is a city in the Southern District of Israel. It is located on the border of the Negev and the Judean Deserts, 25 kilometres west of the Dead Sea and 45 kilometres east of Beersheba. The city is home to a diverse population of 26,451, including Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews, both secular and religious, Bedouins and Black Hebrews, as well as new immigrants.
  After attempts to settle the area in the 1920s, Arad was founded in November 1962 as an Israeli development town, the first planned city in Israel. Arad's population grew significantly with the Aliyah from the former Soviet Union and peaked in 2002 at 24,500 residents.
  Landmarks in Arad include the ruins of Tel Arad, Arad Park, a domestic airfield and Israel's first legal race circuit. The city is known for its annual summer music festival, the Arad Festival.
context_section_description: Arad's main cultural center is the Center for Culture, Youth and Sports (Hebrew: מתנ"ס‎, Matnas), named after Samuel Rubin and located on Ben Yair Street near the Arad Mall. It was built in 1983 and contains the Arad Museum, Arad's public library, a concert hall and the Arad Visitor Center, founded in 1989.
  The Oron movie theater designed by the architect Menachem Cohen closed during the tenure of Mayor Moty Brill. Eshet Lot, an artists quarter, is located in the city's industrial zone, utilizing old warehouses. The city also has a conservatory and concert hall.
  In 2007, the Ministry for the Development of the Negev and Galilee proposed moving the national archive of Israel from Jerusalem to Arad and opening a museum.
  Arad was known for its annual music festival, first held in 1982. It was a popular event and a major magnet for artists until 1995. On 18 July 1995, three teenagers were crushed to death by a falling gate during a farewell concert by the band Mashina. Despite the festival organizers' attempts to keep the festival going it was cut short. Five of the festival's organizers received prison sentences of up to one year.
  The main public park and picnic area is Arad Park, also called the Ran Grove (after Ran Schochat, who was killed in the Yom Kippur War), which is located about 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) west of the city center and measures 3,000 dunams (3.0 km²; 1.2 sq mi). Other notable parks include:
  Gan HaPsalim (a.k.a. Park HaNsharim), the park at the entrance to the city, with monuments of various desert animals
  Gan HaHamisha (Garden of the Five), a memorial park for the five residents of Arad who were killed in action in the Six-Day War. Includes a monument for the soldiers, as well as a stone structure called Amud HaBulbusim (lit. Pillar of the Potatoes, because of its shape), which marks Arad's place in the desert and their residents' control of the territory according to Bedouin tradition – designed by Yona Pitelson.
  Northern Park, to the north of the Halamish neighborhood
  Gan Harpatka'ot (Adventure Park), a large playground and open grass area in the Rishonim neighborhood
  The main cluster of recreational facilities is located in the Ayanot neighborhood also called Kiryat HaSport. Facilities include a swimming pool, tennis courts, a country club and playgrounds. The city's main football stadium is located nearby on the corner of Yehuda and Palmach Streets. The stadium is home to Hapoel Arad, which plays in Liga Bet, the fourth tier of Israeli football.
  Since 2000, Arad also hosts an annual mountain biking tournament, Riding Arad, in memory of Itamar Ilya, a soldier killed in action in Lebanon in 1997. In March 2008, the tournament became part of an international Union Cycliste Internationale competition, which is co-hosted by Misgav and Ma'alot. Arad's professional course is 37 kilometers (23.0 mi) long, while the expert course is 22.5 kilometers (14.0 mi).
caption: Schaller Medical Centre
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