• Food insecurity 

In a research that was published recently by NCF and the ADVA Center in 2023 on the subject of food insecurity, one of the main recommendations made was that “It is crucial that a plan will be designed for emergency situations in which residents of the Bedouin villages are unable to access food outside of their villages. Such situations will result in real hunger, as it appears to have occurred among some families during the Covid-19 epidemic.” (Link to the article in English). (Link to the full report in Hebrew).

Researchers have concluded that the prevailing security conditions make it considerably more difficult for the Bedouin population to access essential goods, which increases food insecurity and the risk of hunger. The longer the war continues, the more the situation will deteriorate, further affecting the livelihoods of a large part of the population.

In the aftermath of emergencies that restrict Bedouin villagers' mobility and keep them trapped in their communities, there is an increased risk of food scarcity, as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. During this ongoing war, NCF has joined forces with various civil society organizations in the southern region to warn the authorities of the imminent threat of food insecurity in the Bedouin villages, and hopefully, to prevent it. The living conditions in these villages are catastrophic. A lack of food security, rudimentary infrastructure, anti-missiles shelters, unpaved roads, and unreliable access to water and electricity characterize them.

While many civilian organizations like ours have been making efforts to provide essential supplies and food parcels to distribution centers in areas like Hura, Abu Tlul and others, our volunteers on the ground stress the severity of the crisis. The dire situation requires more than these initiatives to fill the gaps and meet the needs of the population. We, therefore, call on the government to intervene immediately and implement a well-thought-out plan to prevent such crises.

• Incitement towards Arab citizens in Israel

As highlighted in our previous updates, there has been a disturbing rise in the incitement against Arab citizens of Israel since the onset of the war. In collaboration with various civil society organizations, we have endorsed petitions urging political leaders (and some journalists) to halt the promotion of discord between Jewish and Arab communities. 

Regrettably, there have been multiple instances of arrests, interrogations, university expulsions, and dismissals targeting Arab citizens. During the first month of the war, we have documented 190 arrests across Arab society, 97 cases of job termination, 105 instances of persecution against students and lecturers in universities, 23 cases of violence against media members, and 197 incidents involving the spread of false information and inflammatory posts against the Arab population on social media. These statistics are compiled by a coalition of emergency organizations, of which we are a part. In the Negev-Naqab, some Bedouins were interrogated by the Israel Security Agency, sometimes over no more than a post on social media.

We are deeply worried about how these repeated incidents will escalate in the near future!

We ask the international community to follow these events closely and to consider diplomatic intervention or other appropriate measures to resolve these issues. Your assistance in raising awareness and advocating for the protection of human rights and social cohesion in our region is invaluable. Only by working together, can we create an environment where people of different backgrounds and understandings are valued and Human Rights respected.

• Missile Protection Gaps in Negev's Bedouin Communities

On October 13, the Association for Civil Rights along with other NGOs, including NCF approached the relevant ministers and the Home Front Command and asked them to set up protection zones, emergency shelters, and alarm systems in these villages. On October 18, the Ministry of Social Equality announced cooperation with the Home Front Command to close the "protection gaps" in the Bedouin communities in the Negev. Since then, 30 Hesco shelters - a protective shelter filled with sand, but with no roof - have been installed. 

Together with the Organization Bimkom, NCF helped mapping the existing shelters in the recognized and unrecognized Bedouin villages. All the information we collected were regrouped in a position paper “Lack of protection against missiles and rockets in the unrecognized villages in the Negev”.

Last week, NCF submitted this position paper to different members of the Israeli Government, such as Minister of Defense Yoav Galant, the Legal Advisor to the security system, Adv. Itai Ofir, Director of the National Emergency Authority, Yoram Laredo, Comptroller of the Defense System. In the position paper, NCF recalled the current situation  and provided the names of the Bedouin Israeli Citizens that were killed by rockets on October 7 (More than in any other community in Israel). NCF reminded them that numerous requests have been made over the years (during every war) but that almost none were approved.

We hope that the demands will be heard: Alarm systems should be installed, shelters provided proportionally to the number of inhabitants, and structures such as schools and clinics should be equipped with shelters as well in Bedouin villages and towns. Any publication by the Home Front Command and other government bodies that refers to the conduct of citizens during an emergency must be made available in Arabic. 

Today, as children are going back to school everywhere in the country, thousands of Bedouin children that study in the unrecognized villages don't have any shelter in the 13 schools and dozens of kindergartens, except for the school in Rakhamah that is equipped with two protective spaces.

Last week, in collaboration with Shatil and the Regional Council for the Unrecognized Villages in the Negev, we organized a tour across the Negev-Naqab, hosting both Israeli and International journalists. We held a press conference in the city of Hura, and presented the work of the Emergency Situation Room (Cheder Matsav). We visited the Al’Koran family, who lost four children killed by missiles launched from Gaza on October 7. We also visited Abu-Sabila's family in the village of Abu-Tlul. Amer Abu-Sabila was murdered in Sderot while trying to rescue a woman and her two children after the father had been murdered. Amer Abu-Sabila and the woman, Odaya Swisa, were shot dead by Hamas. The two little girls survived by hiding in the back of the car.

We continue to join petitions that call for a ceasefire, a political solution to the war, the ending of incitement by government members, and the respect of International law.

We wish you a safe and peacefull month of December!

Meeting with the Austrian Ambassador
 

It was a pleasure to meet H.E. Ambassador Nikolaus Lutterotti at the Austrian Embassy last month. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to tell you more about the history and the current situation and struggles of the Bedouin community in the Negev. 

Infogram on Home Demolitions 2022

You can now find the exact number of Home demolitions for the year 2022 on our website. 

House demolitions are a tool used by the State to try to drive Bedouin residents out of unrecognized villages and forcefully relocate them in crowded municipalities without regard for their social structures and traditional agrarian livelihoods. By making life in unrecognized villages unbearable, people are made to move to places they would not otherwise go. Tens of thousands of Bedouins in the Negev/Naqab are currently living in homes that are subject to demolition orders. The issuance of those demolition orders is only possible because there are no approved building plans for their villages. NCF professes that these practices violate the right of citizens to adequate housing, the right to liberty and security of the person recognized in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).

Only official State recognition of the villages and the initiation of participatory and communitarian planning and building processes will create trust among the Bedouin community members and bring them to work with the State.

 Increase in home demolitions 

Israeli forces performed a large number of house demolitions in August. For the first time since the establishment of the State of Israel, two Ministers were present at the demolition of Bedouin homes in the Negev-Naqab. One of them was Itamar Ben Gvir, who extolled what he called "a sacred work". On August 31st alone, no fewer than 29 buildings, including 12 houses, were demolished by Israeli forces. The Bedouin families who lived in these houses did not even have time to pack anything. The next day, the children started the new school year without a roof over their heads.

172 Murders in the Arab community since the beginning of 2023

In the past month, NCF has participated in several protests against the violence plaguing the Arab community and the inaction of the Israeli government. Some of these protests were met with violence by the police. The police claim that their officers have been too busy with the protests against the government’s judicial reform to deal with this ongoing wave of violence. This is yet another pretext to distract public opinion from the abandonment of the Palestinian citizens of Israel. Instead of offering solutions, the government continues to incite against its Arab citizens, or, as the “Haaretz” journalist Jack Khoury wrote, “keeps kicking them while they are down”. 

To make matters worse, Finance Minister Smotrich’s refusal to transfer the 200 million shekels promised by the previous government to the Arab communities threatens to destabilize their local councils with a clear danger of severe consequences. As the most vulnerable community in Israel, the Bedouins will undoubtedly pay a heavy price.

Along with 27 other civil society organizations, NCF issued a letter to Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and Minister of Interior Moshe Arbel, demanding to allocate the budget promised to the Arab local authorities. This budget is crucial to their socio-economic development. Failure to transfer this money will only reward criminal organizations and condemn Arab society to poverty.

• Al Araqib: Follow up: Last demolitions & trial results

After a lengthy legal procedure that lasted for 15 years, the District Court in Beer Sheva rejected the ownership claims of the residents of al-ʿArāgīb. Judge Geula Levin dismissed the plaintiffs' arguments that the property expropriation procedure carried out in 1954 under the directives of the then Finance Minister Levy Eshkol was flawed.

Judge Levin did not accept the contention of the plaintiffs that the Land Acquisition Law of 1953 was designed to legalize expropriations carried out between the State's foundation and 1952 "without legal authority".

On Saturday, July 29th, the residents of Al-ʿArāgīb, their relatives and several Human Rights organizations, including NCF, will hold a large protest gathering, in the village on road 40, commemorating the 13th year of destruction of the village (Al-ʿArāgīb was demolished for the 218th time on June 19th) and protesting the judicial decision and the continuing home demolitions. Your presence and support will be much appreciated!

• Chikli’s Plan to Develop the Negev

The Ministerial Committee for Regulating the Settlement and Economic Development of the Bedouin Community in the Negev recently approved the Chikli Plan. Chikli, who, as Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Minister of Social Equality, is responsible for the Bedouin community, presented the committee with a plan that is essentially aggressive and aimed at concentrating enforcement efforts in four places, including Rahat and its environs, Hurah, Mareit in the Arad Valley area, and Bir Hadaj.

The plan could lead to a massive eviction of villages, including the inhabitants of Tal-Arad near Arad and later the inhabitants of Awajan near Lakiya. The plan aims to quickly complete the process of forced concentration in existing towns without adding or recognizing any Bedouin village. This contradicts the government's plan to build 14 new Jewish settlements in the Negev. It vaguely promises to speed up the establishment of industrial zones in the Negev-Naqab, but provides no funds for this purpose. On the other hand, it allocates funds to strengthen law enforcement forces, in particular, 18 million shekels (almost 4.5 million euros) for the police to use force against Bedouin villages located on future national infrastructure.

We again emphasize that while the Israeli Government is ostensibly promoting the development of the Negev-Naqab, it does so without consulting with the Bedouin community. Contrary to what should be in a democracy, the Government continues to see the Bedouins as an obstacle to development rather than as partners in the decision-making process. It should be noted that none of the Bedouin leaders or representatives were invited for consultation, a decision was simply made on their behalf. 

As a result, no viable alternatives for preserving Bedouin communities and serving them and their growth were considered. The Israeli Government continues to demolish their homes and expel them, against their will, from their ancestral lands for the benefit of others, contrary to international conventions ratified by Israel.

As a reminder, in 1986 the United Nations recognized the “right to development” in its Declaration on the Right to Development. It states that “development is a comprehensive economic, social, cultural and political process, which aims at the constant improvement of the well-being of the entire population and of all individuals on the basis of their active, free and meaningful participation in development and in the fair distribution of benefits resulting therefrom." In 2007, the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People recognized the right to development as an indigenous right.

• Children’s Photography Workshops: 

This month, our team conducted several Photography workshops with children in the unrecognized villages of Umm al-Ḥīrān and ʿAtīr. During the workshops, the children talked about school, the end of the school year, their grades and what they want to learn in the future, and what opportunities they have. They talked about the holidays (the upcoming Eid). They also talked about the possibility of moving as a result of the new plans to displace them. All these matters worry them greatly!

• Al Araqib: Follow up: Last demolitions & trial results

After a lengthy legal procedure that lasted for 15 years, the District Court in Beer Sheva rejected the ownership claims of the residents of al-ʿArāgīb. Judge Geula Levin dismissed the plaintiffs' arguments that the property expropriation procedure carried out in 1954 under the directives of the then Finance Minister Levy Eshkol was flawed.

Judge Levin did not accept the contention of the plaintiffs that the Land Acquisition Law of 1953 was designed to legalize expropriations carried out between the State's foundation and 1952 "without legal authority".

On Saturday, July 29th, the residents of Al-ʿArāgīb, their relatives and several Human Rights organizations, including NCF, will hold a large protest gathering, at the junction of the village on road 40, commemorating the 13th year of destruction of the village (Al-ʿArāgīb was demolished for the 218th time on June 19th) and protesting the judicial decision and the continuing home demolitions. Your presence and support will be much appreciated!

• New Plan to Build in the Negev

This week, the Bedouin ministry committee approved Minister Amichai Chikli’s plan for the Negev-Naqab in the next coming years. The aggressive plan has lots of sticks and a few carrots. Chikli, who is the Minister of Diaspora Affairs and the Minister for Social Equality, said that the plan will enable the State to solve all of the problems of unrecognized villages around Rahat. Really? Given the poor, recycled and aggressive ideas he offered, there are many reasons to doubt the feasibility of the program, but it is certain that it will cause damage to the Bedouin community and widen the gap between the community and the State, a gap that is unfortunately growing every year. 

We emphasize once again that while the Israeli Government is ostensibly promoting the development of the Negev-Naqab, it does so without consulting with the Bedouin community. Contrary to what should be in a democracy, the Government continues to see the Bedouins as an obstacle to development, rather than as partners in the decision-making process. It should be noted that none of the Bedouin representatives were invited for consultation, a decision was simply made on their behalf. 

As a result, no viable alternatives for preserving Bedouin communities and serving them and their growth were considered. The Israeli Government continues to demolish their homes and to expel them, against their will, from their ancestral lands for the benefit of others, contrary to international conventions ratified by Israel.

As a reminder, in 1986 the United Nations recognized the “right to development” in its Declaration on the Right to Development. It states that “development is a comprehensive economic, social, cultural and political process, which aims at the constant improvement of the well-being of the entire population and of all individuals on the basis of their active, free and meaningful participation in development and in the fair distribution of benefits resulting therefrom." In 2007, the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples recognized the right to development as an indigenous right.

• Children’s Photography Workshops: 

This month, our team conducted several Photography workshops with children in the unrecognized villages of Umm al-Ḥīrān and ʿAtīr. During the workshops, the children talked about school, the end of the school year, their grades and what they want to learn in the future, and what opportunities they have. They talked about the holidays (the upcoming Eid). They also talked about the possibility of moving as a result of the new plans to displace them. All these matters worry them greatly!

Update on the planned NGO taxation law

Just recently, the Israeli government planned to introduce Knesset legislation that would place a 65% tax on any funds received by Israeli NGOs from foreign governments, if the organizations were involved in advancing any public issue in the Knesset, a court of law, the Government, or a local council two years before or two years after receiving the funds. The obvious goal of the proposed law is to cut off badly needed funds from all human rights organizations in Israel. The proposed law is a menace to the very existence of our organization, and such legislation could have disastrous effects on the lives and human rights of the Bedouin community, as no one would have the possibility to report human rights violations perpetrated by the government and its administrative branches. The legislation obviously intended to damage and neutralize Israeli civil society. Indeed, one of the pillars of an effective democratic state is a thriving civil society.

After a wave of protests from friendly foreign governments, PM Netanyahu decided to set the proposal aside, thus removing the immediate danger. It is important to note that the proposal still rests on the table and can be brought back to the Knesset at any time.

We wish to express our gratitude to the many diplomats for their support and opposition to this dreadful law!
 

al-ʿArāgīb

Most of you have heard about this unrecognized Bedouin village located west of Route 40. al-ʿArāgīb was demolished twice during May alone. As the protests against the home demolitions and evictions have taken place every Sunday for 13  years, and even though the trial to determine the ownership of the land is still ongoing, the harassment of its residents by Israeli authorities continues. On May 30th, the Yoav unit raided the village at 5:15 am and arrested Sheikh Sayyach Al-tori, his son Aziz and Sabach, Aziz’s wife. The three were interrogated for many hours and were eventually released. The next day, al-ʿArāgīb was destroyed once again for the 217th time since 2010.

Israeli Government plans to build new Jewish settlements in the Negev on Bedouin land and villages.

Lack of schools and kindergartens in the Negev-Naqab

Six years ago, the Education Ministry presented a plan to reduce the number of Bedouin children who don't attend preschool. However, due mainly to the lack of kindergartens in the unrecognized Bedouin villages, 5,045 children from the Bedouin community (17% of the 3 to 5 years old) are not registered in an educational facility, while almost all Jewish children the same age are in educational facilities. 

Several studies have proven the benefits of preschool education, and we will continue to demand that the Israeli government fulfill its duties and provide the necessary infrastructures to allow all children the same rights and access to early education.