The Government Of Israel is Destroying the Main Livelihood of the Bedouin Population in Israel: Raising Sheep, and Intensifying Poverty.
Over 80% of the Bedouin children live under the poverty line.
Over 25% of the Bedouin population earns its living from raising sheep.
Despite this the Government of Israel is intentionally reducing the pasturelands, destroying water wells, protecting the Jewish dairy farmers at the Bedouin sheep growers' expense, and refusing to include the sheep growers in the decisions it makes about the future of these sheep growers.
For example, the Al-Hibu pastureland. This sandy land is located in the western Negev, and has been used for pasture by the El-Azazme tribe. Israel decided to locate a major training camp and took control of the land for army training. Only half of the former pastureland was now allotted to the El-Azazme sheepherders, and only for a very restricted period – mid February until mid April – instead of the four months of pasture available by nature. Then parts of the "military zone" were parceled out to the Kibbutzim (communal Jewish agricultural settlements) in the area for irrigated agriculture (Bedouins are not allotted land for agriculture, nor water for irrigation) then land was parceled out for irrigated agriculture for the Moshavim (other Jewish agricultural settlements) in the area. Then an American millionaire received a parcel of the land to erect an ostrich farm. Then in the military zone half that was closed at all times greenhouses were build, fruit trees and irrigated fields were planted, houses were built, and it was handed over to the Jewish settlers removed from the Gaza Strip. Now, claims the military, they cannot even allow the grazing on the restricted lands remaining, as they had to give up some of the training grounds for the new Jewish agricultural settlements, and because of the last war's failures. So thousands of Bedouin households' income will be destroyed, and they will be reduced to receiving governmental handouts.
This same military zone borders on the Egyptian border. Regulations do not allow the military to train right by the border. In the past the herders could use this strip of land for grazing, but for the last two years the army decided to use collective punishment: they claim that there are Bedouin smugglers using that border, so no Bedouin may herd his/ her sheep in that area any more.
Another example: Ovdat Area. Ovdat is further south and more arid. Accordingly more pastureland is needed to feed the flocks. The overwhelming majority of the Bedouins in this area live on livestock production. The Government considers grazing negative, although peoples grazed in this region since before Abraham. There are no issues of land claims, there is no damage to the land and nature, as for the last 5000 years "nature" has been created with grazing. So the government parceled out the area to Jewish ranchers – thousands of dunams (four dunams = 1 acre) each ranch, as long as they fence it up. The rest of the area the government designated either military training zone or nature preserve. That's it – nothing left for grazing. Salman once had a beautiful herd of hundreds of sheep and goats. This was when he helped the Israeli military in its operations in the area. Now Salman is older, he is of no importance to the state anymore. Salman now has seven hungry goats. Two goats died of hunger last month, as he could not take them out to graze, and he had no money left to buy them food. Now the question remains – how will he feed his children?
These are not unusual occurrences in the Negev. Similar stories can fill books. If you wish, phone me, I will tell you more.
The Regional Council for the Unrecognized Bedouin Villages in the Negev (RCUV) together with the sheep growers committee filed a petition with the Israeli Supreme Court, protesting the fact that this year the government refused to open about 50% of the usual pasturelands. The threat of the petition caused the government to open part of the lands – but not enough, and not for enough time.
But this battle of the Israeli Government against the livelihood of the Bedouins is more systematic – for example, the destruction of water wells used by the Bedouins for themselves and their flocks:
Two weeks ago the "Green Patrol" (a quasi-police created in 1978 to control the movement of Bedouins with their flocks, it is under the jurisdiction of the Israeli Land Authority) confiscated several hundreds of kilos of protected plants from people who were picking them. The green patrol officers then chose to dump these plants down a well that at this time serves hundreds of sheep, every day while in pasture, and many others while they are on their long trek home. When asked by the Bedouin sheikh "why?", he replied, "it was accepted by our superiors". Now the well is contaminated and the sheepherders must bring in water from afar with tractors and trailers.
And another well, in the Ovdat area, last week was filled with sand by some government agency: either the green patrol, or the nature preservation authority, or the military. Each one points the blame at the other – when in fact most likely it was done in collaboration between these different governmental agencies. This well too has been in use most likely since the days of Abraham.
And more:
Receiving papers for animal transportation is difficult for the Bedouins because of lack of infrastructure in their unrecognized villages. A year ago the regulations became even more difficult. The Bedouin Sheep Growers Committee requested the veterinarian services to ease on the new regulations. The head of the veterinarian services agreed. A year has passed, and the sheep growers are still waiting...
Foot and Mouth disease hit the Negev. The regulations that the veterinarian services instigated are set to protect the economic interests of the few Jewish dairy farmers, rather than the many and far more needy Bedouin sheep growers.
The RCUV organized the sheep growers and they elected the Bedouin Sheep Growers Committee. In order to work with government to better the sheep growing production, the committee requested a meeting with the head of the Grazing Authority. The Head of the Ministry of Agriculture offices in the Negev, Yoav Morag, forbade this official from meeting the Bedouin Sheep Growers Committee without his presence. The meeting was canceled and postponed for nine months! When at last we all sat together, the first words Morag said were, "Who are you?! I don't recognize your existence as a committee and representative body!" Of course no positive discussion was possible in this meeting.
Because of the lack of support exhibited by Morag at the Negev office, the Bedouin Sheep Growers Committee requested a meeting with the Minister of Agriculture, Shalom Simhon, and with the head of the Department of Agriculture Yael Shaltiel. The reason for the meeting was to discuss the hardships the sheep growers are facing, and possible solutions. MK Haim Oron and other MKs and friends requested that this meeting come about. It has been a year, and still the Minister and his Head of Department are refusing to meet the Bedouin Sheep Growers Committee.
How is it possible to address the needs of the sheep growers, when we cannot even discuss them?
Protest of all this, and above all, in protest of the reluctance to talk to us, we will be hold a demonstration on Thursday, May 3rd, in front of the Ministry of Agriculture, in Beit Dagan.
Join Us!
We will send more details in the next few days.
For more information, contact:
Yeela Livnat Raanan
RCUV, 054 7487005
yallylivnat@gmail.com
The Regional Council for the Unrecognized Villages in the Negev
tel: 972-8-6283043