Participants from across the government, including local authorities and ministries, community leaders and activists, as well as social and nongovernmental organizations, met to discuss how best to work on the economy and industry, education and other factors in the Negev.
It’s about time. The Bedouin community needs support, and the government should be coordinating that support. After years of neglect and amid a large and rising number of unrecognized communities growing in the Negev, Israel may finally be taking a better approach. It is many decades too late, but the time has come to try to do what is necessary to help one of Israel’s poorest and most marginalized communities.
As Yair Lapid’s efforts to form a coalition continued on Wednesday, the Ra’am Party asked for increased support for 14 unrecognized villages in the Negev.
The term “unrecognized village” is often misleading. Usually these communities are large and sprawling, with tens of thousands of people living in homes not recognized by the state. This means a lack of basic services, schools, parks, water, electricity and many other things.
Amir Peretz said that “unfortunately, despite considerable achievements in the current plan, the gaps in the quality of life between the Bedouin society in the Negev and the rest of society in Israel have remained wide.” He argued that it is a national obligation to work to narrow the gaps, increase and streamline government investment, from early childhood and throughout all ages for integration in quality employment.
The new process is unprecedented, according to Michal Fink, deputy director-general of strategy and policy planning at the Economy Ministry, who is leading the entire project. What will be important is the follow-up.
The concept of a multiyear plan is similar to the plan the government embarked on to aid the integration of Ethiopian Jews. This saw changes in how the Ethiopian community is provided with support in local councils and also addressed issues such as crime and policing as well as religious issues, housing and education. The whole-of-government approach can work well in a small country like Israel, tailored to certain communities.
This challenge with the Bedouin in the Negev is about not just support but also integration and reducing crime and lawlessness. It’s made even more complex by a lack of trust in government and sometimes outright antagonism against the authorities.
The government’s abandonment of much of the Negev has proven to be a disaster. During the recent war in Gaza, some roads and highways were even closed due to protests.
There have also been incidents of violence. In 2017 Bedouin schoolteacher Yacoub Mousa Abu al-Qia’an was killed by police during protests and tensions at Umm al-Hiran. There have been incidents where residents of the Negev have felt threatened by the lawlessness of some communities.
While in the past Israel did establish several large Bedouin planned towns, such as Rahat, these areas have now become cities. They have grown beyond the plans, and generally government planning has let these areas down.
Distrust of government and debates over previous plans to remove or consolidate some unrecognized communities, such as the Prawer plan, led to some people preferring to remain off the grid and not deal with the authorities at all. This means there is a shadow economy, large numbers of illegal weapons, and criminal activity. This also impacts women and children. When there is an absence of law and support, children do not attend school regularly, and women face domestic violence. In addition, distrust means some people do not take vaccines during the pandemic. This is part of a wider public health issue.
Overall, the situation must be addressed, and the baby steps of the five-year plan are welcome. This can be done only with tolerance, coexistence and cooperation. That means that local communities have to be involved, and that they must work to integrate as well, once the state has come up with the tools and resources to aid this integration and support a peaceful, thriving Negev, rather than an abandoned, neglected Negev.