Ben-Gurion's Tomb National Park Ramat Avdat

In 1974, the National Parks Authority held a public architectural competition to design the burial plaza and its surroundings. The brief called for a park that would facilitate large-scale pilgrimages while remaining modest yet majestic. The site was personally selected by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, who spent his final years in Kibbutz Sde Boker. Out of 54 entries, the design by Yahalom-Zur was chosen, praised for its topographical approach that guides visitors through an organic, evocative path. This design accentuates the striking contrast between the arid desert and Ben-Gurion’s vision of making the Negev bloom. Recently, due to the passage of time, intensive use, and the local ibex population, the burial plaza, vegetation, and irrigation systems were fully renovated.