The Plight of the Bedouins

I just returned from a week long trip in the Negev and Jerusalem with the Machon. We basically put Israel under a microscope and spent five days looking at the environmental and social problems here. The majority of our time in the Negev focused on issues surrounding the Bedouin residents. And for good reason. There are about 180,000 Bedouins living in the Negev, 80,000 of which live in unrecognized villages. The Negev is by far the poorest part of the country and is seen by many as the "backyard" or "garbage dump" of Israel. Others prefer to see it as Israel's frontier. I suppose both descriptions could be fitting depending on your perspective. The Israeli government certainly sees it as the former, however.

A little bit of context: Traditionally, Bedouins are semi-nomadic and worked as herders or in agriculture. Many fled to Jordan or Egypt during the 1948 war and the majority of those that remained were forced into the Northeast portion of the Negev. In the 1970s, the Israeli government constructed seven townships promising government services (water, electricity, roads, education, health care, etc) in exchange for the Bedouins giving up their claim to the land. Many agreed to move into the townships in hopes of a better life. About half the population remained outside of these townships in their own villages to maintain their traditions and way of life. These unrecognized villages (which are illegal) do not appear on official maps, the government frequently demolishes houses, and the villages are denied access to basic services. Because of these restrictions there are high rates of unemployment, health problems, and crime.

We visited three villages on our trip. The first was Umm Batim, formerly an unrecognized village that is going through the process of becoming recognized. This process has, of course, been more difficult than it should be. The village is subject to certain conditions including giving up some land, controlling population, and abiding by land use restrictions. In exchange, the village should be granted government services, none of which they have seen yet.

The poverty is strikingly obvious when you enter the village. Not only is there no road to get in, but the buildings are made of plaster walls and tin roofs. In most of the window frames there was no glass. We were treated with traditional Arab hospitality - served tea and coffee during the discussion, where they came around multiple times to fill our glasses. Of course, by the end of it the ladies had to use the facilities, so we were taken to the bathroom. Well, to the outhouse.

Next we went to the first recognized township, Tel Sheva. It actually looks like a town. The government designed and constructed it for the Bedouins. Unfortunately, they did not consult those who would actually be living there, and there have been a number of problems as a result. I don't know if it's an apocryphal story or not, but I was told that when people first moved in, they put their sheep in the houses and setup tents outside because the buildings were too close to each other and too dark. The point is that the government completely disregarded the social structure and needs of the community when they built the village.

We visited Mariam Abu Rayek and her desert herb garden at Tel Sheva. She has a pretty incredible story: a Bedouin woman who refused to marry and started her own successful business. She wants to preserve the culture by continuing to use traditional medicinal herbs and cooking the food of her grandmother. Her specialty is black cumin oil which is supposed to be good for the immune system. She sells it, and the sign gives a list of about 20 ailments that it is supposed to cure.

The following day we visited an unrecognized village, Wadi Na'am, located literally across the street from Ramat Hovav, the largest industrial complex and hazardous waste site in the country, and about 100 meters away from a huge electrical plant. The irony? They don't have electricity! All of the negative impacts with none of the benefits.

It took us about 20 minutes to get into the village from the main road because the conditions were so bad. While we had already seen a lot of poverty up to this point, nothing compared to this village. We were taken to the guest house where the walls were made of corrugated metal and the roof was a tarp. To let enough light in, one of the residents just rolled up part of the tarp. The fire pit to make the tea and coffee was inside the tent, so afterwards we smelled as though we had just been to a bonfire.

Many issues arise with living across the street from pesticide and other chemical plants, not the least of which is health problems. There is no proof that higher rates of respiratory disease and cancer are directly linked to Ramat Hovav, but the plant certainly can't be helping. We asked Najib, our host, if anyone from the village works at the plant. He responded by saying that for them, working at Ramat Hovav is like the Palestinians who helped build the separation wall. They know it is detrimental to the community, but they need to support their families. Another problem: what happens if there is some sort of accident at the plant? Because they are not hooked into any government services, they are not notified by the authorities. So I guess there is an advantage to having some of the residents work there - they can sound the alarm.

So far I have only shared our experiences at villages themselves, but we spoke with a representative at a Regional Council in the Negev who gave us a better idea of how the government approaches the "Bedouin problem." The conclusion: just ignore them. That's a great idea...there are 80,000 people who live in unrecognized villages, and like it or not, they are there, on the land. The representative showed us slides from a presentation that would have been presented to government employees. The demographic breakdown of that council's jurisdiction read "4,000 residents" and "6,500 Bedouin." So, are the Bedouin not residents even though they carry Israeli ID cards? Residents only refer to Jews. And when discussing economic development, health, the environment, or any other issues that local government might discuss, they don't take the Bedouins into consideration at all. What?!

The government's perspective and the policies towards the Bedouin are driven largely by the fact that Israel is a Jewish State. The threat of the growing Bedouin population (their population doubles every 17 years) is seen as a direct threat to maintaining the Jewishness of the state and to bringing more Jews down the dumping ground of the Negev. I have always believed in that Israel should remain a Jewish state. But to what length will they go? Can such terrible treatment really be justified for the sake of a Jewish state?