page_title: Arad, Israel
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Arad, Israel / Geography
caption_attribution_description: gemaakt en in het publiek domein geplaatst door ynhockney van en.wikipedia. volg interwiki voor meer informatie Licensing nl:en:Image:AradMap.png
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 is located mostly on the western and southwestern Kidod Range, and the Arad Plain, which marks the southwestern end of the Judean Desert. It is located 23 kilometers (14.3 mi) west of the southern end of the Dead Sea, and is by road, 45 kilometers (28.0 mi) east of Beersheva, 111 kilometers (69.0 mi) south of Jerusalem, 138 kilometers (85.7 mi) south east of Tel Aviv, and 219 kilometers (136.1 mi) north of the southern-most city of Eilat.
  The city spans an area of 93,140 dunams (93.1 km²; 36.0 sq mi), one of the largest municipal areas in Israel, even though its urban area is much smaller. In 1993, the city's jurisdiction was 73,934.3 dunams (73.9 km²; 28.5 sq mi), still many times larger than the urban area. The historical site of Tel Arad and the Arad Park (also known as Ran Grove) can also be found within its municipal area, west of the urban core. Arad also has a commercial landing strip located slightly to the south of its urban core. It borders the Tamar and Abu Basma regional councils, and the closest local municipality to Arad is the Bedouin local council Kuseife.
caption: Neighborhoods of Arad
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