The Ramat HaNegev Regional Council agreed this week to make an initial

investment of 10 million shekels ($2.44 million) for the establishment of a

drug-rehabilitation village in the Telalim Junction area, north of Sdei

Boker in the Negev. The center, to be named Good Hope Village, will be

able to absorb and help some 120 addicts. The Authority on the War Against

Drugs will also chip in some $100,000, and the Ramat HaNegev Council hopes

to enlist help from the Housing Ministry, the Jewish National Fund, and

others as well.



The 20-dunam (5-acre) village will have dormitories, a dining room, an

infirmary, service centers, and work centers. Ramat HaNegev Council Head

Shmuel Rifman said, \"We see this as a significant contribution to the

national problem of the war on drugs and the rehabilitation of addicts,

especially in the south.\" Construction is hoped to begin within a year.