Kibbutz Neot Semadar, located in the Arava Desert region of southern Israel, is named as one of the best tourism villages in the world for 2025 by UN Tourism.
Among the kibbutz’s key features is the architecturally unique, hand-built Art Center.
The Art Center, according to Neot Semadar’s website, “merges sustainable desert architecture with traditional construction techniques,” and was built over a period of 15 years by the community’s founders.
The kibbutz has 22 guest rooms available for visitors, which are billed as offering a chance for an eco-friendly, sustainable getaway.
It is also home to an organic winery and a vegetarian cafe.
The kibbutz says that its inclusion on the UN Tourism list “stands as a testament to living in harmony with people, nature and creativity.”
As of 2023, Neot Semadar had a population of around 260 people.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Friday, October 17, 2025
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
