BEERSHEBA, Israel — As night began to fall and Shabbat came to an end, the lights of Turner Stadium crackled to life and Beersheba awoke.
Unlike the bustling cities of Tel Aviv and, to a lesser extent, Jerusalem, this southern city of 220,000 people on the edge of the Negev is transformed into a ghost town by the Jewish holy day. The narrow streets and courtyards are empty and silent, even though Beersheba is a mixed city, with large Arab and Bedouin populations living alongside its Jews.