It is named after two good friends, Tom Kita’in and Tomer Keidar, soldiers in the NAHAL engineering company who died in the helicopter tragedy in the north of Israel on February 4 1997.
This is a special ecological botanical garden which was initiated by Yo'av Keidar, a member of Kibbutz Negba, Tomer’s father. Yo'av wanted to commemorate the lives of all 73 soldiers who died in the helicopter tragedy, including Tomer, by creating the garden. The garden contains a representative range of Israeli vegetation, based on the premise that youth who volunteer for combat field units do so out of love for Israel, its hills, rocks and nature.
Form the top of the hill, one can look eastwards in the direction of the mountain ridges of Jerusalem, Hebron and the Judean Hills. To the west the cities of Ashdod and Ashqelon, and the Mediterranean Sea are visible. The position of the hill, to the west of Kibbutz Negba, was chosen with the idea that the site would become a starting point for learning about military heritage relating to the War of Independence in the region of Negba, and the nearby communities. It also serves as a good place for trips to battle sites, the Yo'av Fortress and the Giv'ati Brigade Museum.
Additional information about the site can be found at: www.tom-tomer.org
An electricity pillar at the entrance to the ecological garden, painted blue, with 73 doves in various positions of flight painted on it, in the memory of the 73 soldiers who died in the disaster.
