Al Jazeera English (AJE) recently ran an article about Israel’s Bedouins. My first question is how a guy like the author, Ben White, has any insight into Bedouin affairs and identity. Rather than raising legitimate concerns about Bedouin society, both by itself and in relation to Israel, White seeks to ridiculously slander Israel. And if you think I’m being paranoid, he’s written a book entitled “Israeli Apartheid: A Beginner’s Guide.” Excellent.
So who are the Bedouins? The Bedouins lived nomadically in Israel for centuries. Because they didn’t own land, they were easy victims of exploitation by many empires. Nowadays, some Bedouins live in the North, some in the West Bank, and some in the Negev (southern desert.) According to a source in Israel who had close ties with a number of Bedouins, the Northern Bedouins identify mainly as Israeli. She said they recognize that if a suicide bomber comes, he’s not going to not kill them because they are Arab. Moreover, some are afraid to go into the West Bank for fear of being targeted as a “traitor.” The Bedouins in the West Bank are under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority. The Negev Bedouins, the focus of the article, have a bad reputation in Israel for stealing cars, prostitution, and smuggling drugs and weapons, but that is neither here nor there. Some of them live in villages which receive social services and infrastructure from Israel, while some live in unrecognized villages. I visited an unrecognized village in the Negev last year. Why does Israel refuse to recognize these villages? They are too small and remote. It’s just not worth it for Israel to create infrastructure (sewage, water, electricity, etc) in a distant location for just 100 people. Our host complained about water and electricity challenges, but he had a cell phone. Nevertheless, life is tough for Bedouins in the Negev.
The article suggests that Israel is using a “divide and conquer” tactic to separate Bedouins from Palestinians. When I raised the issue of Bedouins considering themselves Palestinian to my Israeli contact and to other local Israelis, they all needed some clarification. My question was so out of touch with reality that they had to make sure they understood what I was asking. Bedouins do not consider themselves Palestinian. Palestinians do not consider themselves related to the Bedouin. So rather than the Israelis using a “divide and conquer” strategy to exploit Palestinians (and “Palestinian Bedouins”), Ben White is using a “unite and manipulate” maneuver. He’s changing the identity of the Bedouins to enhance the claims of Israeli crimes against the Palestinians. He’s making it seem like this is just another way Israel screws Palestinians. So when Ben White says “even the category of 'Bedouin' is historically and politically loaded, with many disputing what they see as an Israeli 'divide and rule' strategy towards the Palestinians,” he is full of camel shit.
Separate from Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians, Israel is the first nation to give any kind of rights to the Bedouins. Many Negev Bedouins today live in towns. My Israeli contact described the common situation where the family lives in a house, and the grandparents live in a tent in the backyard. Clearly a shift is taking place. Unemployment is high among the Bedouins, and many of them receive social services from the Israeli government. They are not drafted, but many Bedouins have served with distinction in the IDF, even representing Israel abroad. Much of the arid Negev land is owned by the military. When asked about Bedouins feeling displaced from their land, my contact paused before explaining the obvious—Bedouins don’t have a sense of land ownership. They don’t own land, and they don’t pay rent to live on others’ land. This has raised some conflicts, since the Israeli government does have a concept of land ownership, and Bedouins have been known to set up shop on Army grounds. I am still baffled by his insistence that the Bedouins have a ”determination to stay,” completely denying the fact that HELLO! this is a historically nomadic people. In other words, they move. On their own accord. Frequently.
To lend his article an air of legitimacy, Ben White of course slips in some references to Jewish conspiracies.
+Uh-oh, the “familiar partnership of the Israeli state and the Jewish National Fund.” Obviously the State of Israel is going to work closely with an organization that fundraises for it and does such fanatical acts as plant trees. And trust me, the JNF and Israel have other things to talk about besides “targeting” unrecognized Bedouin villages… like taking over the world and controlling all the banks, duh.
+“Those who remained were forcibly concentrated by the Israeli military in an area known as the 'siyag' (closure).” Oops, when it’s not defending itself from like, the entire Arab world (and Iran!), the IDF corrals Bedouins in cages. Or something.
+“It is not, therefore, hard to read between the lines when Israeli policy makers and Zionist officials from organisations like the Jewish National Fund talk about 'developing the Negev'.” (Apparently Israel should not be allowed to use its own land for agriculture and housing its own citizens—including Arabs.)
And in case you again suspect me of being paranoid, please check out how hot conspiracy theories are in the Arab world. And of course, accusing Jews of conspiring is nothing new.
It is disgusting that someone would distort a group’s identity to further his own political agenda. What is even more disturbing is that an international news source would publish it. AJE says that the views of the author do not necessarily reflect those of the staff of AJE. Fine, but I would like to see AJE publish something that suggests that it’s possible that maybe once Israel wasn’t doing something diabolical. Click here for the nicest piece I’ve ever read in regards to Israel by AJE.
