Yeruham (, Yeroham) is a town (local council) in the Southern District of Israel, in the Negev desert. It covers 38,584 dunams (~38.6 km²), and had a population of in . It is named after the Biblical Jeroham. Until early 2011 the mayor of Yeruham was Amram Mitzna, and he was succeeded by Michael Biton of Kadima, who was elected mayor in November 2010. In 2018, dark horse candidate Tal Ohana was elected the first female mayor of Yeruham. For many years, Yeruham was economically depressed and suffered from image problems, but major efforts to improve the quality of life took place during early 2000s. History Antiquity Yeruham is the site of Tel Rahma, dating back to the 10th century BCE. On the outskirts of Yeruham is an ancient well, Be'er Rahma (). During the Nabatean, Roman and Byzantine periods there was a village in the western outskirts of the town and its ruins can be seen today. The site, known Qasr Rekhmeh or Mesad Yeruham, was excavated in 1966 by R. Cohen. Modern era Modern Yeruham was founded on 9 January 1951 as Kfar Yeruham () and was one of Israel's first development towns, created to settle frontier areas in the early days of the state. It was located near the Large Makhtesh, an area thought at the time to be rich with natural resources. At the head of the settlement was Pinchas Maanit (Muchnik), one of the founders of Nahalal, who moved to the place with his family after David Ben-Gurion request to assist and help to settle and establish new home to Israeli new-comers. The crossing was established in the area where the Bedouins migrated from Mata al-Azama, some of whose residents now live in Rekha, an unknown village located in the Yeruhem area. In 1959, the settlement was dismantled, and a permanent settlement was established in its place, which was declared a local council. Maanit continued to serve as head of the council. In 1962, when about 1700 residents lived in the settlement, the name of the settlement was changed to "Yerucham". Two years later, another settlement was established in the settlement, and almost 3000 residents were added. During the 1960s, the settlement suffered several changes - although the first factory opened there, in 1965 the Arava road was opened, diverting traffic from it to Eilat. At the end of the decade, the road between Beer