DOCSLIB.ORG

Are the Negev Bedouin an Indigenous People? by Havatzelet Yahel, Ruth Kark, and Seth J

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Are the Negev Bedouin an Indigenous People? by Havatzelet Yahel, Ruth Kark, and Seth J Fabricating Palestinian History Are the Negev Bedouin an Indigenous People? by Havatzelet Yahel, Ruth Kark, and Seth J. Frantzman n the last two decades, there has been widespread application of the term “indigenous” in relation to various groups worldwide. However, the meaning of this term and its uses I tend to be inconsistent and variable. The expression derives from the interaction of different cultures—the meeting between the original inhabitants of a specific region (known variously as “first nations,” “natives,” “indigenes,” or “aborigines”) and new, foreign “set- tlers” or “colonizers,” who imposed their alien value systems and way of life on the indig- enous populations.1 In Israel, the indigenousness claim has been raised over the past few years by the country’s Bedouin citizens, a formerly nomadic, Arabic-speaking group centered in the southern arid part of the country, the Negev. They argue that Israel denies their basic indigenous rights such as maintaining their traditions and owning their own lands. Does this claim hold water? What are its implications for Israel as well as for other nations? tury onward, parallel to the emergence of sover- INDIGENOUS RIGHTS eign nation states, with the objective of regulat- IN THE ing relations between these new entities. Tradi- tionally, international law made no mention of INTERNATIONAL ARENA group rights, which were considered a domestic concern of the state.2 What is known today as international law International law was reluctant to further developed in Europe from the seventeenth cen- group rights for several reasons, among them concern for the integrity of the state and fear of separatism that would undermine its stability.3 Havatzelet Yahel is a doctoral candidate at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and an attorney in the Israel Ministry of Justice. Ruth Kark is a professor at The Hebrew University of Jerusa- 1 S. James Anaya, Indigenous Peoples in International Law, 2d lem. Seth J. Frantzman is a post-doctoral re- ed. (Oxford and London: Oxford University Press, 2004), p. 3. searcher at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem 2 Natan Lerner, Group Rights and Discrimination in Interna- tional Law, 2d ed. (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and and a fellow at the Jerusalem Institute of Market Kluwer Law International, 2003), p. 112; Robbie Sabel and Hila Studies. The views expressed here are solely those Adler, eds., Mishpat Benleumy (Jerusalem: Sacher Institute, 2010), p. 241. of the authors. Yahel, Kark, Frantzman: Negev Bedouin / 3 Furthermore, group rights were considered con- This doctrine was upheld multiple times by the tradictory to the concept of a modern state based United States Supreme Court in the nineteenth on a direct social contract between the citizen century, and courts of additional nations fol- and the sovereign. lowed suit.6 In Australia, the British Crown used Over time, however, the idea of group rights the argument of terra nullius (empty land, namely for indigenous groups began to emerge. Indig- an unoccupied territory with no sovereignty or enous societies claimed that their position was recognized system of rights) to justify its classifi- unique in view of the great damage to the inde- cation as crown land.7 However, beginning in the pendent political frameworks that they had main- eighteenth century, it was conceded in courts of tained from time immemorial, their subjugation to various states that the population that lived in a a regime and lifestyle alien territory before the advent of the Europeans did to their culture, and the possess rights. Legal arguments focused on the The Declaration limitation of the physical question of whether, prior to the arrival of the on the Rights area in which they were colonizers, a system of land rights already existed of Indigenous forced to live. Their case, in a specific territory that had to be taken into therefore, centered on re- account, and if so, in what manner.8 Peoples refers to voking this perceived in- Early attempts by indigenous peoples to the land rights of justice and included de- bring their case before international forums be- a collective body, mands to preserve sacred gan in the 1920s.9 Their first successes, how- not individuals. sites, traditional crafts, ever, came decades later when activity shifted and customs as well as to from domestic arenas to regional, and later, in- honor preexisting trea- ternational organizations. On the international ties to the extent that such had been signed. level, the issue of indigenousness was advanced These societies also insisted on their right to in three major frameworks. The first comprised self-determination whether in the choice of two covenants adopted by the International group members or in the wider sense of sover- Labor Organization, an affiliate of the United eignty. The rights demanded were on behalf Nations: the Indigenous and Tribal Populations of the indigenous group and its common and Convention of 1957 (No. 107), and later, the In- collective character.4 digenous and Tribal Peoples Convention of 1989 As far as the European colonizers were (No. 169)10—neither of which was successfully concerned, legal rights vis-à-vis both preex- implemented. isting populations and other colonizing na- The second framework consisted of the ef- tions were based on the doctrine of “discov- ery.” This maintained that sovereignty over and full ownership of a territory belonged to the nation that discovered the new land.5 5 Robert J. Miller, “The Doctrine of Discovery,” in idem, et al., Discovering Indigenous Lands: The Doctrine of Discovery in the English Colonies (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010), p. 2. 6 Johnson v. M’cintosh, 21 U.S. 543, 5 L.Ed. 681, 8 Wheat. 543 (1823); Worcester v. State of Georgia, 31 U.S. 515 (1832); St. Catharine’s Milling and Lumber Company v. the Queen (Canada, 3 Lerner, Group Rights and Discrimination, p. 111; Borhan U. 1887); Mabo and Others v. Queensland (Aus.), no. 2, AU 1992, Khan and Muhammad M. Rahman, “Protection of Minorities: A 175 CLR1. South Asian Discourse,” The European Academy of Bozen/ 7 Erica-Irene Daes, “Indigenous Peoples and their Relationship to Bolzano, Italy, 2009; Arif Dirlik, “Globalization, Indigenism, Land,” UNE/CN.4/Sub.2/2001/21, U.N. Commission on Human and the Politics of Place,” New Bulgarian University, anthropol- Rights, Geneva, June 11, 2001, p. 11. ogy dept., accessed Feb. 23, 2011; Ruth Gavison and Tali Balfur, “Zhuyot Kibutziot shel Miutim,” working paper, submitted to 8 See, for example, “Western Sahara, Advisory Opinion,” Interna- the Constitutional Committee, Sept. 13, 2005. tional Court of Justice reports, The Hague, Oct. 16, 1975, p. 12. 4 Patrick Thornberry, International Law and the Rights of 9 State of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, Secretariat of the Minorities (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1991), p. 335; Lerner, Group United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, New Rights and Discrimination, p. 115; Siegfried Wiessner, “Rights York, p. 2, accessed Mar. 19, 2012. and Status of Indigenous Peoples: A Global Comparative and 10 Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention of 1989, Interna- International Legal Analysis,” Harvard Human Rights Journal, tional Labor Organization, Geneva, June 27, 1989; Lerner, Group 12 (1999): 99. Rights and Discrimination, p. 112. 4 / MIDDLE EAST QUARTERLY SUMMER 2012 forts of organizations such as the World Bank, which since the 1990s began to list indigenous rights as an issue of con- cern in its dealing with countries, espe- cially in the Third World.11 The third framework was informal action within various forums of the U.N. dealing with human rights. This in- cluded initiating conferences12 and pro- moting study of the topic. Beginning in 1971, the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) conducted an ex- tensive study of the issue of native populations.13 Carried out over a pe- riod of about ten years, the research was published in a series of reports Far from being the indigenous inhabitants, the Bedouin submitted between 1981 and 1986. In were relative latecomers to the Negev, preying on the 1982, the U.N. Working Group on In- villages and caravansaries that dotted the sparsely digenous Populations was established, populated wilderness. Here, a Bedouin family is pictured charged with protecting native popu- in the early 1900s. lations and the development of inter- national standards relating to their rights.14 A draft Declaration on the Rights of In- the framework of the Subcommission on Pre- digenous Peoples (DRIP)15 was enjoined in 1985, vention of Discrimination and Protection of and almost twenty years later in 2006, was finally Minorities.17 The assembly declared a second submitted to the U.N. General Assembly and decade on December 20, 2004.18 approved the next year with the support of more Much of the delay in presenting DRIP cen- than 140 nations. Four nations that voted tered on differences of opinion related to the con- against it (the United States, Canada, Austra- cept of sovereignty19 as well as the definition of lia, and New Zealand) eventually withdrew their indigenous.20 Since no consensus was reached opposition. Israel did not participate in the vot- on this crucial definition, the problem was cir- ing.16 During this time, the assembly declared cumvented by deleting it from the draft.21 Numer- 1995-2004 to be the “International Decade of ous countries, mainly from Asia and Africa, made the World’s Indigenous Peoples” and estab- qualifying statements regarding their support for lished a permanent forum on this issue within 17 U.N. General Assembly resolution 48/63, New York, Dec. 11 “Operational Directive: Indigenous Peoples,” The World 21, 1993; U.N. General Assembly resolution 49/214, New York, Bank Operational Manual, 4.20, Sept. 1991, pp. 1-6. Dec. 23, 1994. 12 See, for example, Conference on Discrimination against In- 18 U.N.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A Brief History of the Negev Bedouin the Changes of the Twentieth Century Have Brought About the Destruction of Many Indigenous
    A Brief History of the Negev Bedouin The changes of the twentieth century have brought about the destruction of many indigenous communities, as is happening today to the Bedouin community in the Israeli Negev. Today in the southern Negev desert of Israel there exist 45 Bedouin villages with a combined population of more than 70,000 people, all citizens of the state of Israel. They live in communities that appear on no official maps, and receive no basic and essential services from the Israeli government, such as electricity, water, sewage, paved roads, and inadequate medical services. These 45 villages are referred to as unrecognized. The Bedouin people are the indigenous inhabitants of the Negev desert, arriving in waves from the Arabian Peninsula over the last hundreds and thousands of years. Since that time, the Bedouin population has been residing in the region in semi-nomadic communities, depending primarily on their livestock as a means of survival, and developing a culture distinct from other Palestinian communities in the North. One can divide modern Bedouin history into four distinct periods, and with each period came erosion of this autonomy and land rights, ultimately culminating in the situation we have today. They are, respectively, the Ottoman period, the British mandatory period, Israeli rule from 1948-1966, and Israeli rule from 1966 to the present. During the later part of the Ottoman period, many of the Bedouin began cultivating land, and consequently a private land ownership system was established and regulated by the Bedouin courts. When the Ottoman Land Law (1858) came into effect and required all subjects to register their land and pay the necessary taxes on it, many Bedouin ignored the law.
    [Show full text]
  • The Bedouin Population in the Negev
    T The Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Bedouins h in the Negev have rarely been included in the Israeli public e discourse, even though they comprise around one-fourth B Bedouin e of the Negev’s population. Recently, however, political, d o economic and social changes have raised public awareness u i of this population group, as have the efforts to resolve the n TThehe BBedouinedouin PPopulationopulation status of the unrecognized Bedouin villages in the Negev, P Population o primarily through the Goldberg and Prawer Committees. p u These changing trends have exposed major shortcomings l a in information, facts and figures regarding the Arab- t i iinn tthehe NNegevegev o Bedouins in the Negev. The objective of this publication n The Abraham Fund Initiatives is to fill in this missing information and to portray a i in the n Building a Shared Future for Israel’s comprehensive picture of this population group. t Jewish and Arab Citizens h The first section, written by Arik Rudnitzky, describes e The Abraham Fund Initiatives is a non- the social, demographic and economic characteristics of N Negev profit organization that has been working e Bedouin society in the Negev and compares these to the g since 1989 to promote coexistence and Jewish population and the general Arab population in e equality among Israel’s Jewish and Arab v Israel. citizens. Named for the common ancestor of both Jews and Arabs, The Abraham In the second section, Dr. Thabet Abu Ras discusses social Fund Initiatives advances a cohesive, and demographic attributes in the context of government secure and just Israeli society by policy toward the Bedouin population with respect to promoting policies based on innovative economics, politics, land and settlement, decisive rulings social models, and by conducting large- of the High Court of Justice concerning the Bedouins and scale social change initiatives, advocacy the new political awakening in Bedouin society.
    [Show full text]
  • History and Politics of Nomadism in Modern Palestine (1882-1948)
    History and Politics of Nomadism in Modern Palestine (1882-1948) A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Georgetown University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Arabic and Islamic Studies By Seraje Assi, M.A. Washington, DC May 30, 2016 Copyright 2016 by Seraje Assi All Rights Reserved ii History and Politics of Nomadism in Modern Palestine (1882-1948) Seraje Assi, M.A. Thesis Advisor: Judith Tucker, Ph.D. ABSTRACT My research examines contending visions on nomadism in modern Palestine. It is a comparative study that covers British, Arab and Zionist attitudes to nomadism. By nomadism I refer to a form of territorialist discourse, one which views tribal formations as the antithesis of national and land rights, thus justifying the exteriority of nomadism to the state apparatus. Drawing on primary sources in Arabic and Hebrew, I show how local conceptions of nomadism have been reconstructed on new legal taxonomies rooted in modern European theories and praxis. By undertaking a comparative approach, I maintain that the introduction of these taxonomies transformed not only local Palestinian perceptions of nomadism, but perceptions that characterized early Zionist literature. The purpose of my research is not to provide a legal framework for nomadism on the basis of these taxonomies. Quite the contrary, it is to show how nomadism, as a set of official narratives on the Bedouin of Palestine, failed to imagine nationhood and statehood beyond the single apparatus of settlement. iii The research and writing of this thesis is dedicated to everyone who helped along the way.
    [Show full text]
  • Israel 2020 Human Rights Report
    ISRAEL 2020 HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Israel is a multiparty parliamentary democracy. Although it has no constitution, its parliament, the unicameral 120-member Knesset, has enacted a series of “Basic Laws” that enumerate fundamental rights. Certain fundamental laws, orders, and regulations legally depend on the existence of a “state of emergency,” which has been in effect since 1948. Under the Basic Laws, the Knesset has the power to dissolve itself and mandate elections. On March 2, Israel held its third general election within a year, which resulted in a coalition government. On December 23, following the government’s failure to pass a budget, the Knesset dissolved itself, which paved the way for new elections scheduled for March 23, 2021. Under the authority of the prime minister, the Israeli Security Agency combats terrorism and espionage in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. The national police, including the border police and the immigration police, are under the authority of the Ministry of Public Security. The Israeli Defense Forces are responsible for external security but also have some domestic security responsibilities and report to the Ministry of Defense. Israeli Security Agency forces operating in the West Bank fall under the Israeli Defense Forces for operations and operational debriefing. Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the security services. The Israeli military and civilian justice systems have on occasion found members of the security forces to have committed abuses. Significant human
    [Show full text]
  • Please Scroll Down for Article
    This article was downloaded by: [Ben Gurion University of the Negev] On: 23 November 2008 Access details: Access Details: [subscription number 792080903] Publisher Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Social Identities Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t713445719 Identity and gender in cultural transitions: returning home from higher education as 'internal immigration' among Bedouin and Druze women in Israel Sarab Abu-Rabia-Queder a; Naomi Weiner-Levy b a Ben-Gurion University, Israel b David Yellin Academic College, Jerusalem, Israel Online Publication Date: 01 November 2008 To cite this Article Abu-Rabia-Queder, Sarab and Weiner-Levy, Naomi(2008)'Identity and gender in cultural transitions: returning home from higher education as 'internal immigration' among Bedouin and Druze women in Israel',Social Identities,14:6,665 — 682 To link to this Article: DOI: 10.1080/13504630802462778 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13504630802462778 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.informaworld.com/terms-and-conditions-of-access.pdf This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, re-distribution, re-selling, loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources.
    [Show full text]
  • The Influence of Israel Health Insurance Law on the Negev Bedouin Population — a Survey Study
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE Research Article provided by Crossref TheScientificWorldJOURNAL (2006) 6, 81–95 ISSN 1537-744X; DOI 10.1100/tsw.2006.6 The Influence of Israel Health Insurance Law on the Negev Bedouin Population — A Survey Study Mohammed Morad1,2,3,4,5,*, Shifra Shvarts5, Joav Merrick2,3,4,5,6,7, and Jeffrey Borkan8 1Clalit Health Service, 2Division of Community Health, 3Center for Multidisciplinary Research in Aging, 4National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 5Center of Health Policy in the Negev, 6Division of Pediatrics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel; 7Office of the Medical Director, Division for Mental Retardation, Ministry of Social Affairs, Jerusalem, Israel; 8Department of Family Medicine, Brown University, Providence, RI E-mail: [email protected] Received May 25, 2005; Revised November 2, 2005; Accepted November 3, 2005; Published January 24, 2006 The extension of universal health service insurance to national populations is a relatively new phenomenon. Since 1995, the Israeli National Health Insurance Law (NHIL) has provided universal health services to every resident, but the effect of this law on health and health services among minorities has not been examined sufficiently. The goals of this study were to track some of the first changes engendered by the NHIL among the Negev Bedouin Arabs to examine the effects of universal health care services. Methods included analysis of historical and health policy documents, three field appraisals of health care services (1994, 1995, 1999), a region-wide interview survey of Negev Bedouins (1997), and key informant interviews.
    [Show full text]
  • Bioarchaeological Analysis of One of the Earliest Islamic Burials in the Levant
    Supplementary Information Bioarchaeological analysis of one of the earliest Islamic burials in the Levant Megha Srigyan, Héctor Bolívar, Irene Ureña, Jonathan Santana, Andrew Petersen, Eneko Iriarte, Mattias Jakobsson, Colin Smith, Juan José Ibañez, Anders Götherström, Torsten Günther*, Cristina Valdiosera* * Corresponding authors: [email protected], [email protected] This supplement contains Supplementary Text S1 Supplementary Text S2 Supplementary Figures Supplementary Tables References in the Supplementary Text 1 Supplementary Text S1 Historical Discussion of Tell Qarassa Burials Muslim Burials Muslim graves are very diverse yet easily distinguishable from other forms of religious burial. The diversity is mostly concerned with grave markings, traditions around the funeral and the precise form of the grave pit itself. The defining features of Islamic burials are the position of the body, the lack of a wooden coffin and the speed of burial. Despite the fact that much of the focus of Near Eastern Archaeology has been on funerary remains surprisingly few Islamic burial sites have been investigated. Of the excavated sites, few have been published and even fewer have been subjected to analytical tests. The rarity of archaeologically investigated Muslim burials is largely the result of religious sensitivities and traditional beliefs about the necessity for having a complete body with which to enter the afterlife (for a detailed discussion of the archaeology of Muslim burials see1). Although death and burial are processes which are nearly always connected with religious belief the Quran has very little to say either about funerals or how a body should be buried (see Quran 5:31, 9:84 and 21:35).
    [Show full text]
  • Terror at the Hajj | the Washington Institute
    MENU Policy Analysis / PolicyWatch 446 Terror at the Hajj Mar 3, 2004 Brief Analysis mong the two million Muslims participating in this year's Hajj in Mecca were a relatively small number of A Palestinians and Israeli Arabs. While the vast majority of these pilgrims devoted all of their time in Mecca to religious purposes, others participated in meetings with terrorist operatives as well. Indeed, Hamas, Hizballah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) have all attempted to recruit future terrorists—particularly from the coveted Israeli Arab pool—during the Hajj and lesser pilgrimages to Mecca (or 'umrah). For example, over the past two-and-a-half years, Israeli security forces have arrested two Hizballah terrorists recruited during the Hajj and seven other terrorists recruited while making 'umrah. The fact that terrorist groups of any sort are operating at the Hajj has dangerous implications for the United States. Indeed, it would be naive to assume that al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations targeting U.S. interests are not using Mecca as a convenient and secure location for their own meetings, recruitment, and fundraising. Israeli Arabs, Palestinians, and the Hajj Partaking in the Hajj (The greater pilgrimage), one of the five pillars of Islam, is a once-in-a-lifetime obligation for all able-bodied Muslims. Over a ten-day period during the twelfth month of the Islamic year, pilgrims participate in a series of rites in Mecca's Grand Mosque and throughout the city proper. Those foreigners who travel to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj typically remain in Mecca for three to four weeks.
    [Show full text]
  • Off the Map Land and Housing Rights Violations in Israel’S Unrecognized Bedouin Villages
    March 2008 Volume 20, No. 5 (E) Off the Map Land and Housing Rights Violations in Israel’s Unrecognized Bedouin Villages I. Summary.................................................................................................................................. 1 Key Recommendations..........................................................................................................6 II. Note on Methodology and Scope............................................................................................ 8 III. Background...........................................................................................................................11 Legal Basis for Land Confiscation........................................................................................ 13 Government-planned Townships......................................................................................... 16 Battle over Land Ownership ................................................................................................ 18 Unrecognized Villages.........................................................................................................20 Developing the Negev .........................................................................................................22 Is Resolution Possible? .......................................................................................................23 IV. Discrimination in Land Allocation and Access ......................................................................27 Land Ownership and
    [Show full text]
  • Home Is Where the Hatred Is?
    Home Is Where The Hatred Is? Sense of belonging and exclusion of Galilee Bedouins with regard to the Jewish state, IsraeliIsraeli----JewishJewish and IsraeliIsraeli----ArabArab citizens Home Is Where The Hatred Is? Sense of belonging and exclusion of Galilee Bedouins wiwithth regard to the Jewish state, IsraeliIsraeli----JewishJewish and IsraeliIsraeli----ArabArab citizenscitizens.... This thesis is submitted in completion of the Master Cultural Anthropology: Multiculturalism in Comparative Perspective. Name: Danielle Zevulun Student number: 0315958 Supervisor: Madeleine Albregtse University: Utrecht University Date: August 2008 E-mail address: [email protected] Title is inspired by Gill-Scott Heron’s song “Home is where the hatred is” from the album Pieces of a Man , 1971. 2 Table of Contents Foreword.......................................................................................................................................................4 1. Introduction.........................................................................................................................................6 2. Bedouins in the Galilee .....................................................................................................................15 3. A suspect minority in a nationalist state ..........................................................................................26 3.1 Theoretical debate concerning identity and belonging ..........................................................26 3.2 “You are citizens of the
    [Show full text]
  • Bedouin Memory Between City and Desert Alan Weber Memory Connection Volume 1 Number 1 © 2011 the Memory Waka
    Memory Connection Volume 1 Number 1 © 2011 The Memory Waka Bedouin Memory Between City and Desert Alan Weber Memory Connection Volume 1 Number 1 © 2011 The Memory Waka Bedouin Memory Between City and Desert Alan Weber Abstract The redrawing of Middle East boundaries by colonial powers following World War I, and the discovery of oil in the Persian Gulf region from the 1920s to 1950s ushered in more change in two generations than the Bedouin tribes had experienced since the founding of Islam. Urban centres rapidly expanded and new national boundaries created a class of stateless urban and desert peasants (bidoon), and interrupted migration patterns of the pastoral nomads (beddu or badu, the “desert-dwellers”) who have migrated throughout the region for thousands of years. As Bedouin lifestyle shifted in the face of urbanisation throughout the Arabic speaking world, Arabs of Bedouin heritage sought to memorialise a romanticised past by constructing heritage villages and tourist destinations designed to deliver an exotic, authentic Bedouin experience for visitors. Competing conceptions of history have characterised this culture’s interactions with newly emergent post- World War I political realities. Their concept of memory contrasts sharply with Western “documentary” memory, which relies on the written word, photography, and an objectivist vision of historical truth. Oral history is still one of the few avenues of memory available to present-day Arabs of Bedouin heritage due to low literacy rates. This fact, in conjunction with their adaptability to the harsh desert environment, allows for creative re-interpretation of a memorialised past both by the Bedouins themselves and the Arab national states.
    [Show full text]
  • The Land-Ownership Conflict Between the Negev Bedouin and the Israeli Government
    1 THE LAND-OWNERSHIP CONFLICT BETWEEN THE NEGEV BEDOUIN AND THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT by Ron Morad The report was prepared by Ron Morad for the Consensus Building Institute under the direction of Professor Larry Susskind PREFACE On March 14, 2002, the long-lasting conflict between the Israeli government and the Bedouin population in the Negev reached a new and worrisome level when the Israeli Minister of National Infrastructures, Avigdor Lieberman (who has since resigned over disputes with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon over the Palestinian-Israeli conflict), ordered the Israel Lands Administration, a department of his office, to exterminate some 12,000 dunams (1 dunam = 0.25 acres) of wheat and barley plants that had been grown by Bedouin illegally on government land. In recent years, the authorities have claimed that the Bedouin are trying to “take over” the Negev by a massive invasion onto government lands by building homes and staking out grazing and farming areas. The government claims the Bedouin are settling state-owned lands with no permit to do so. The Bedouin claim these lands are theirs as their fathers and grandfathers used to work them long before the state of Israel was established and they say that the state never allotted them adequate land space. They see this most recent move by the authorities as a declaration of war on the Bedouin population. The Liberman move is a sign that the conflict in the ongoing dispute between the Bedouin and the government over land ownership in the Negev is potentially explosive and must be resolved soon. The purpose of this paper is to create a better understanding of the long-existing and worsening conflict between the Bedouin population in the Negev and the government.
    [Show full text]