Sheva and Mitzpe Ramon was opened, and Ruham was cut off from any main transportation route. Because of these factors, in addition to Yeruham's distance from the center of the country (about 150 kilometers), many young people left its territory and it suffered for many years from negative immigration. The first influx of olim (Jewish immigrants) came from Romania, many of them Holocaust survivors, followed by immigrants from North Africa, Persia, India and elsewhere, who make up the majority of the town's population today (appr. 40%, 5%, 20%, 10% respectively). By 1961, the town's population was 1,574. The name was changed to Yeruham in 1962. Yeruham was founded on the Petroleum Road in the Negev (today roads 224 and 225) and its initial growth was stymied by the construction of Highway 25 and the Beersheba – Mitzpe Ramon section of Highway 40, which created a new route to Eilat and made the Petroleum Road obsolete. Since autumn 1990, Yeruham had actively been involved in absorbing hundreds of olim from the Former USSR, who came to comprise 25% of the town's nearly 10,000 residents. In recent years, young couples and families from other localities have moved to Yeruham, and some have purchased lots and built their homes in the town's new neighborhoods. Members of the Young People in Yeruham Student Settlement Group are involved in local social action projects, organize cultural events for young people, and attract young people to settle in Yeruham. In April 2008, the Ayalim Student Village opened in Yeruham to allow students in Negev institutions of higher education to live and volunteer in the town. North American students from Nativ College Leadership Program engage in volunteer community service in Yeruham every spring. They help teach English in the local high schools and yeshivot, work with the Magen David Adom ambulance corps, teach in preschools and much more. Geography Yeruham is situated in the northern Negev, 15 km from Dimona, 600 meters above sea level. It is located within the Negev desert and has erosion cirques or ‘craters’ and close by is the Yeruham Iris Nature Reserve, where the rare native iris Iris petrana is found. Economy The main employers are local and regional industry (53% of employed residents) and services and commerce. Most of those are employed in industry work in local factories such as Agis-Perrigo (Careline cosmetics and pharmaceuticals), Negev Ceramics, Phoenicia Glass Works (which moved