The Bedouins of the Negev confront a modern society
31 - Oct - 2001
Por: Suzanna Kokkonen
The title of this article is highly indicative of the attitude most Westerners have towards not only the Bedouins, but by and large towards any minority that can be considered traditional. The underlying assumption is that in confrontations between modern and traditional cultures, it is always the traditional one that will ultimately realize the benefits of embracing the modern culture. The title of this article could just as well have been "a modern society confronts the Bedouins of the Negev", implying that Israeli society has as much difficulty in understanding the Bedouins as they have understanding Israeli society. The on-going encounter between Israeli society and the Bedouins will leave its mark on both parties. The Bedouins' situation in Israeli society adds one more dimension to the discussion on the minorities in Israel.
Introduction
To a European, the word "Bedouin" conjures images of romance, desert scenery and freedom. For Israelis, the word has become to mean illiteracy, dirt and questionable loyalty - all things that are incompatible with modern civilization in general and with Israeli society in particular. Of course, neither association is complete. The European image is based on movies and books. The knowledge Israelis have of Bedouin culture is not very extensive. A less than genuine Bedouin market has been opened in Be'er Sheva mainly for Israelis. A Bedouin nightclub has been opened, too. (Nothing could be further away from genuine Bedouin culture). Generally speaking, Israelis feel positive about the Bedouins, as they are perceived differently from Arabs, and especially the Palestinians. The fact that many young Bedouins volunteer for the military service has no doubt softened attitudes towards them. However, for historical reasons, the volunteers come mainly from the Bedouin community in the Galilee area.
The Bedouins of the Negev form about 12% of Israeli Arabs, that is about 110,000 people. They originally come from the northern part of the Arabian peninsula, whereas the Bedouins of the Galilee are of Syrian extraction. Prior to Israeli War of Independence, the Bedouins of the Negev made their living from agriculture and livestock. Today about half of the Bedouins in the Negev live in the poorest towns of Israel: the other half lives in unrecognized localities without basic services. The process of sedentarisation into townships has been forced on the Bedouins in a manner insensitive to their culture and traditional livelihood. Tensions have been very high between the state and the Bedouins regarding land ownership. This is why the Bedouin of the Negev have not adapted to the society like their Galilee counterparts. This is also why the Israeli society views them differently from the Bedouins of the Galilee.
One of two things could happen in the near future. If no change in Israeli policy occurs, the meeting between two cultures will turn into a real confrontation as the Bedouins' political awareness grows. Their gaze will then turn from Israel to Israel's adversaries as a source of help. Another, more desirable, option would be for the Bedouins' rights and grievances to be recognized by the State, and urgent government measures adopted to fight the poverty and alienation that the Bedouins of the Negev experience in their everyday lives. There are indications that this kind of process has started or is under consideration.
My aim is not to dispute the fact that adapting to Israeli society has been traumatic and difficult, and this due to Bedouin culture and tradition. But nor can it be disputed that certain citizens of the State of Israel have managed to accumulate considerable wealth. As long as other parts of the society can only dream of this kind of wealth, a possibility for a dangerous confrontation exists.
The Negev and the Bedouin townships
Until 1948, the area of the Negev was characterized by Bedouin tent settlements. It was David Ben-Gurion who believed in settling the Negev. The area started to be settled, but after Ben-Gurion's resignation and in the aftermath of the 1967 war, the Negev was once more neglected. There was no one who really wanted to invest in the area after Ben-Gurion, and new and more fertile areas for settlement were gained as a result of the war. The Negev's towns have been characterized by limited employment opportunities, low wages, and more recently (at the end of the 80's and beginning of the 90's) by immigrants from Russia and Ethiopia.
In order to settle the issue of land allocation the Israeli government decided to create Bedouin towns. This was a move opposed by the Bedouins, as they prefer agricultural settlements to towns. No adequate facilities for agricultural activities were created for these towns. According to the Local Authorities statistics relating to socio-economic standards the seven Bedouin towns are the lowest ranking in the country. For instance, the family salary income in Bedouin towns is less than half of that of an average family in Be'er Sheva (and Be'er Sheva is certainly not among the wealthiest towns in Israel). Water allocation to Bedouin towns is 25-50% of the allocation to Jewish towns. The number of pupils per classroom is without exception larger than in Jewish towns. The quality and the quantity of the teachers are not comparable to Jewish schools. There are few paved roads. One could draw up and extremely long list of similar grievances. Suffice to say that many of services that the Bedouins receive from government agencies are inadequate. In comparison to Jewish towns the differences are so large that the suspicion of a deliberate policy arises. This is especially so when we realize that only two of the Bedouin towns are allowed to elect their own councils, whereas the other five have government appointed councils. Nonetheless, the last two Israeli governments have started programs to improve the Bedouins' situation.
Israeli newspapers frequently report that the Bedouins in Israel have it better than Bedouins in neighboring countries since per capita GNP in Israel is 4 to 6 times higher. However, if we take into account the fact that the Bedouins' incomes are only one quarter of the national average, the picture becomes much more complex. Since the Bedouin have one of the highest birth rates in the world, they depend on the working age population. At the same time, since the Bedouin towns have not been developed in terms of industry or other sources of income, unemployment is high. Although about 30% of the Bedouins of the Negev hold permanent jobs, for the others, their unskilled laboring jobs are only seasonal.
The area where the State of Israel has most contributed to the Bedouins' welfare is health care. Although in the 80's only 50% of the Bedouin population were covered by the General Sick Fund (compared with 90% of the Jewish population) their situation had improved considerably compared with earlier days. Undoubtedly, the high birth rate is due to adequate heath care. Problems are evident mainly in the area of pre-natal care for Bedouin women. Mobile clinics do not cover all areas and a Bedouin woman cannot go to a clinic without a male companion (which entails the man taking a day off work in order to accompany her). Specific programs are needed to explain to women how to take care of their health. Also, the Bedouins living outside the recognized settlements need to be able to receive health care services. The 1996 National Health Insurance Law improved the lot of another 30% of the Negev Bedouins incorporating them into the Sick Fund.
The Bedouins of the Negev form about 12% of Israeli Arabs, that is about 110,000 people. They originally come from the northern part of the Arabian peninsula, whereas the Bedouins of the Galilee are of Syrian extraction. Prior to Israeli War of Independence, the Bedouins of the Negev made their living from agriculture and livestock. Today about half of the Bedouins in the Negev live in the poorest towns of Israel: the other half lives in unrecognized localities without basic services. The process of sedentarisation into townships has been forced on the Bedouins in a manner insensitive to their culture and traditional livelihood. Tensions have been very high between the state and the Bedouins regarding land ownership. This is why the Bedouin of the Negev have not adapted to the society like their Galilee counterparts. This is also why the Israeli society views them differently from the Bedouins of the Galilee.
One of two things could happen in the near future. If no change in Israeli policy occurs, the meeting between two cultures will turn into a real confrontation as the Bedouins' political awareness grows. Their gaze will then turn from Israel to Israel's adversaries as a source of help. Another, more desirable, option would be for the Bedouins' rights and grievances to be recognized by the State, and urgent government measures adopted to fight the poverty and alienation that the Bedouins of the Negev experience in their everyday lives. There are indications that this kind of process has started or is under consideration.
My aim is not to dispute the fact that adapting to Israeli society has been traumatic and difficult, and this due to Bedouin culture and tradition. But nor can it be disputed that certain citizens of the State of Israel have managed to accumulate considerable wealth. As long as other parts of the society can only dream of this kind of wealth, a possibility for a dangerous confrontation exists.
The Negev and the Bedouin townships
Until 1948, the area of the Negev was characterized by Bedouin tent settlements. It was David Ben-Gurion who believed in settling the Negev. The area started to be settled, but after Ben-Gurion's resignation and in the aftermath of the 1967 war, the Negev was once more neglected. There was no one who really wanted to invest in the area after Ben-Gurion, and new and more fertile areas for settlement were gained as a result of the war. The Negev's towns have been characterized by limited employment opportunities, low wages, and more recently (at the end of the 80's and beginning of the 90's) by immigrants from Russia and Ethiopia.
In order to settle the issue of land allocation the Israeli government decided to create Bedouin towns. This was a move opposed by the Bedouins, as they prefer agricultural settlements to towns. No adequate facilities for agricultural activities were created for these towns. According to the Local Authorities statistics relating to socio-economic standards the seven Bedouin towns are the lowest ranking in the country. For instance, the family salary income in Bedouin towns is less than half of that of an average family in Be'er Sheva (and Be'er Sheva is certainly not among the wealthiest towns in Israel). Water allocation to Bedouin towns is 25-50% of the allocation to Jewish towns. The number of pupils per classroom is without exception larger than in Jewish towns. The quality and the quantity of the teachers are not comparable to Jewish schools. There are few paved roads. One could draw up and extremely long list of similar grievances. Suffice to say that many of services that the Bedouins receive from government agencies are inadequate. In comparison to Jewish towns the differences are so large that the suspicion of a deliberate policy arises. This is especially so when we realize that only two of the Bedouin towns are allowed to elect their own councils, whereas the other five have government appointed councils. Nonetheless, the last two Israeli governments have started programs to improve the Bedouins' situation.
Israeli newspapers frequently report that the Bedouins in Israel have it better than Bedouins in neighboring countries since per capita GNP in Israel is 4 to 6 times higher. However, if we take into account the fact that the Bedouins' incomes are only one quarter of the national average, the picture becomes much more complex. Since the Bedouin have one of the highest birth rates in the world, they depend on the working age population. At the same time, since the Bedouin towns have not been developed in terms of industry or other sources of income, unemployment is high. Although about 30% of the Bedouins of the Negev hold permanent jobs, for the others, their unskilled laboring jobs are only seasonal.
The area where the State of Israel has most contributed to the Bedouins' welfare is health care. Although in the 80's only 50% of the Bedouin population were covered by the General Sick Fund (compared with 90% of the Jewish population) their situation had improved considerably compared with earlier days. Undoubtedly, the high birth rate is due to adequate heath care. Problems are evident mainly in the area of pre-natal care for Bedouin women. Mobile clinics do not cover all areas and a Bedouin woman cannot go to a clinic without a male companion (which entails the man taking a day off work in order to accompany her). Specific programs are needed to explain to women how to take care of their health. Also, the Bedouins living outside the recognized settlements need to be able to receive health care services. The 1996 National Health Insurance Law improved the lot of another 30% of the Negev Bedouins incorporating them into the Sick Fund.
Cultural changes
As with all of Israel's minorities, the State of Israel has introduced the Bedouins to many innovations, but also to culturally unacceptable phenomenon. The tribe system and its leadership have been weakened by the Western emphasis on the individual as opposed to the family unit. On the positive side, university education is a possibility at least for some. Illiteracy has gone down. Perhaps due to education, sons no longer automatically accept their families' dictates. Daughters, although receiving inferior education, come into contact with men other than the males of the immediate family. This is a revolutionary issue. Battered women's shelters have enabled some Bedouin women to start new lives without an abusive husband.
One of the most interesting issues the Israeli society has faced is the concept of revenge killing. This kind of killing is always intentional since it the goal is to avenge a killing that has already taken place. To prevent this kind of killing, mediators have been used in many disputes; at times they have been people offered by the State to be mediators. The Israeli legal system in principal does not acknowledge revenge killing, but the administration does. In most cases, the perpetrators receive a presidential pardon at some stage. The police in the field acknowledge revenge killing. In instances, where a woman has been accused of adultery, the police have sheltered her until a solution has been found, thus preventing a murder from being carried out.
It has to be understood that Israeli culture is not the only influence on the Bedouins. Recently, there have been attempts by outside forces to influence the Bedouins' political leanings, and to turn them against the State of Israel. When a Bedouin tracker, Sergeant Major Khalil Taher from Acco, died near the Northern border, the local Muslim cleric refused to have anything to do with his funeral. (Ha'aretz 27/11/00). Bedouin soldiers are subject to pressure because they volunteer for the IDF. In Acco, some residents wanted to drive out families of Bedouin soldiers. With regard the Bedouins of the Negev, the situation is more volatile on account of their lack of identification with the State, yet this the lack of identification will deepen if the group continues to see itself as treated unequally.
One of the most interesting issues the Israeli society has faced is the concept of revenge killing. This kind of killing is always intentional since it the goal is to avenge a killing that has already taken place. To prevent this kind of killing, mediators have been used in many disputes; at times they have been people offered by the State to be mediators. The Israeli legal system in principal does not acknowledge revenge killing, but the administration does. In most cases, the perpetrators receive a presidential pardon at some stage. The police in the field acknowledge revenge killing. In instances, where a woman has been accused of adultery, the police have sheltered her until a solution has been found, thus preventing a murder from being carried out.
It has to be understood that Israeli culture is not the only influence on the Bedouins. Recently, there have been attempts by outside forces to influence the Bedouins' political leanings, and to turn them against the State of Israel. When a Bedouin tracker, Sergeant Major Khalil Taher from Acco, died near the Northern border, the local Muslim cleric refused to have anything to do with his funeral. (Ha'aretz 27/11/00). Bedouin soldiers are subject to pressure because they volunteer for the IDF. In Acco, some residents wanted to drive out families of Bedouin soldiers. With regard the Bedouins of the Negev, the situation is more volatile on account of their lack of identification with the State, yet this the lack of identification will deepen if the group continues to see itself as treated unequally.
Conclusions
It would be extremely interesting to know how much the Israeli public is familiar with the issues discussed above. Are we talking about errors of judgment in policy-making, or deliberate decisions? Will Israel reconsider its policy with regard Bedouin towns? Will the unrecognized localities, where real people live, receive recognition? The State of Israel has enough outside problems without making enemies of its own citizens. As the only democracy of the Middle East, and as a state founded on universal moral values, Israel is required to give equality to all of its citizens.
On a practical level, equality in this case would entail allowing the Bedouin to establish agricultural settlements. The towns that already exist should receive additional budgets and industries should be established in them. Educational standards should be brought to the level of other schools in Israel. The unrecognized localities should be recognized, or a settlement negotiated to the satisfaction of both parties. Everyone should have access to health care and basic services. Professional opportunities should be opened for those Bedouins who study in the universities and colleges. Fortunately, it seems that awareness of the situation is growing in government agencies and voluntary organizations.
Real loyalty can only exist between a majority and a minority when they enjoy the same basic rights. But rights alone are not yet enough. A society needs to give opportunities, too.
On a practical level, equality in this case would entail allowing the Bedouin to establish agricultural settlements. The towns that already exist should receive additional budgets and industries should be established in them. Educational standards should be brought to the level of other schools in Israel. The unrecognized localities should be recognized, or a settlement negotiated to the satisfaction of both parties. Everyone should have access to health care and basic services. Professional opportunities should be opened for those Bedouins who study in the universities and colleges. Fortunately, it seems that awareness of the situation is growing in government agencies and voluntary organizations.
Real loyalty can only exist between a majority and a minority when they enjoy the same basic rights. But rights alone are not yet enough. A society needs to give opportunities, too.
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