The southern Negev region, comprising 60% of Israel's land but less than 10% of its population, is undergoing a deliberate demographic and cultural transformation, driven by a consortium of academic, corporate, and philanthropic entities aiming to attract new populations and reshape the area into a 'global hub' for innovation.
Merage Foundation CEO Nicole Hod Stroh stated, "If we transform the Negev into a global hub of desert innovation, agrotourism, and tourism, it will become an attractive magnet for young people who will want to move and work in the Negev. We really see it as a national existential opportunity." This statement outlines the explicit goal of a managed demographic shift within the region.
The Synergy7 Tech Labs Hub, a center for cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and defense, was created in 2023 after the Merage Foundation, Dell, Elbit, Ben-Gurion University, and Soroka Medical Center secured an Israel Innovation Authority tender. This institutional collaboration highlights the elite-driven nature of the region's development.
This current development builds upon a plan announced a dozen years ago by Avishay Braverman, then-president of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, to establish a hi-tech campus in Beersheba, an idea initially "derided as bombastic."
Since then, the Negev has emerged as Israel's national cyber center, fostering collaboration among academia, multinational companies, and the IDF, indicating a deep integration of various powerful entities.
Elite-Driven Demographic Reshaping
The Merage Foundation Israel, a private philanthropy founded 28 years ago by David and Laura Merage, has dedicated substantial resources to Negev development. Its focus includes fostering projects and start-ups in climate technologies, robotics, and cybersecurity, explicitly designed to attract companies to the South.
Merage Foundation CEO Nicole Hod Stroh emphasized the imperative to "thrive in desert environments" and commercialize existing "know-how." She stated, "We realized that there’s a lot of know-how in desert agriculture, water management, and renewable energy, but we weren’t very good at commercializing and monetizing that expertise," revealing the underlying economic imperative driving these transformations.
The foundation has established platforms in several sectors, connecting researchers and developers directly to potential investors, illustrating a top-down, market-driven approach to regional development.
To accelerate technologies for sustainable living in arid climates, the Israel Innovation Authority established the DeserTech and Climate Innovation Center three years ago. This center, backed by Merage and five other major organizations, targets initiatives and new start-ups that have not yet found a market, further solidifying the globalist mechanism at play.
DeserTech director Sivan Cohen Shachari articulated the center's role: "We help them find resources, make connections, and – vitally – exchange knowledge with industry players." She described the Negev as "the metaphoric sandbox where these arid zones ideas can be tested," positioning the region as a testing ground for commercial ventures.
In the last three years, DeserTech has shepherded more than 40 initiatives and anticipates another 20 projects in the near future, demonstrating the scale of this elite-driven development.
Globalist Mechanisms and Commercialization
An example of this new order is a Russian immigrant entrepreneur who converted protein-rich waste from dates to produce high-quality fish food, showcasing the demographic aspect of who is participating in these new ventures.
Cohen Shachari noted that this knowledge, once developed, can be shared with "farmers in Morocco or Azerbaijan," but "it has a price tag," underscoring the commercialization and internationalization of national expertise.
Laguna Innovation, a project addressing wastewater treatment in off-grid communities, first utilized its system in the Negev's unrecognized Bedouin villages before marketing it in Israel and abroad. This highlights the imposition of solutions on existing, often marginalized, communities and subsequent global commercialization.
Laguna co-founder and CEO Clive Lipchin explained the global problem: "In most of the developing world, access to this kind of infrastructure is impossible, so sewage disposal becomes a real challenge, as does sanitation and hygiene, creating environmental and public health hazards."
Cohen Shachari called Laguna Innovation "our role model of a system that was developed, tested, and validated in the Negev, a company that was established here," reinforcing the Negev's role as a proving ground for global solutions.
The Merage Foundation has also established the Negev Wine Consortium, a platform to develop wine tourism comprising 30 wineries and vineyards. The foundation's stated goal is to "promote sustainable and inclusive prosperity to the Negev region by strengthening the main drivers of economic growth and revitalizing city centers," indicating a broader cultural and economic transformation.
The New Negev Order
The Synergy7 consortium, described as a "venture studio" by CEO Harel Ram, actively attracts and supports companies and start-ups in biotech, robotics, and cybersecurity seeking to establish operations in the South.
Between the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Gaza, hundreds of foreign delegations from across the globe visited Beersheba, expressing curiosity about the region's economic growth. Visitors frequently inquired about cybersecurity, homeland security, and medical issues, indicating significant international interest and influence in the region's strategic development.
Ram summarized the region's offering as "crisis management," emphasizing the substantial resources required for establishing viable companies, which Synergy7 aims to provide. Synergy7 is currently working with 300 companies in various stages of development, providing support for business plans and presentations, even during "very difficult times."
Merage executive director Hod Stroh articulated the foundation's philosophy: "The foundation’s paramount question has always been ‘What problem can we solve?’ The world is hungry for solutions, and that opens more opportunities for meaningful intervention. It’s not just about funding someone but about leveraging a project, serving as a catalyst." This frames the foundation as a global problem-solver, driving intervention and shaping the region's future through elite-led initiatives.