Tamar Regional Council

Tamar Regional Council מועצה אזורית תמר‎ مجلس إقليمي تمار
Regional council
Headquarters of the Tamar Regional Council at Neve Zohar on the shores of the southern Dead Sea.
Coordinates: 31°27′8″N 35°23′7″E / 31.45222°N 35.38528°E / 31.45222; 35.38528
Country	Israel
District	Southern
Founded	1955
Government
• Head of Municipality	Nir Vanger
Area
• Total	1,650,000 dunams (1,650 km2 or 640 sq mi)
Population  (2006)
• Total	2,300
• Density	1.4/km2 (3.6/sq mi)

The Tamar Regional Council (Hebrew: מועצה אזורית תמר, Mo'atza Ezorit Tamar) is a regional council in Israel's Southern District, on the south and western edges of the Dead Sea along the Arava valley. The council was established in 1955 with the opening of lodging at Sodom near the Dead Sea Works, and its jurisdiction covers an area of 1,650 km².

The first council head was Yehuda Almog (Kopelivitch), who had lived in the area from 1934. The present Mayor of the Tamar Regional Council is Mr. Dov Litvinoff.

The council today encompasses communal villages, agriculture, factories, tourist sites, and military and civilian installations. Tamar council has a permanent population of 2,300,^[1] half of which is Jewish and lives in five communities, and half of which is Arab living in unrecognized communities.^[2] Many people from other areas are employed both year-round and seasonally at the Dead Sea Works, the Dead Sea hotel district at Neve Zohar, and numerous other tourist spots like Ein Gedi and Masada. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), the total population of the regional council in 2006 was 2,300.