When the State of Israel was founded in 1949, along with the arable land they inherited a vast, arid desert called the
Negev. At that time, David Ben-Gurion envisioned it as
Israel's last frontier. Today, as Israel
bulldozes unrecognized Bedouin settlements there, this low-key narrative in Zionist history is getting a little more sunlight.
The Zionist Dream
In 1911, the first Zionists came to the Negev, the
kibbutz Ruhama. They arrived to witness a sprawling mass of
Nabatean ruins and roaming Bedouin bands, which Mark Twain
described as "a desolation that not even imagination can grace with the pomp of life and action". This settlement, however, was destroyed in World War I; not until Partition did Zionists return to the area, which was awarded
in order to offset the loss of Galilee, and in the hope that as an "empty" space Jews might expand there.
In the 1950s, under Ben-Gurion's leadership,
olim (Jewish repatriates) from poorer regions of Africa and the Mideast were settled in
development towns in the Negev. Ben-Gurion himself
moved to the Negev after retiring from politics. His statement, "Israel's capacity for science and research will be tested in the Negev", led to a
university built there which studies, among other things,
desert agriculture and technology.
The focus on the Negev
increased in the 21st century, as Israel looked for ways to invest its growing wealth.
Modern frontier bushwhackers have busied themselves founding
eco-
villages and
planned communities. The Jewish National Fund, best known in the US for their 50-year "plant trees for Israel" campaign, initiated the
Blueprint Negev project in 2003. The primary goal was to settle new
olim in brand-new Negev communities. Other recent plans include solar energy farms and
tourism.
The Bedouin
There are a few problems with these grand projects. First off, it takes a lot to get someone to settle in the Negev when there is much more pleasant land available. The result was
green suburbs in the desert. Secondly, of course, the desert is not "empty". The Bedouin, like Native Americans, were around before the Israelis got there and continue to live on the Negev in large numbers.
Holding partial citizenship and theoretical access to all government services, the Bedouin are much better off than Palestinians, but nonetheless faced with
their share of problems.
(PDF)
The State of Israel originally chose to "recognize" some Bedouin villages while declaring others illegal.
Unrecognized settlements are denied electricity, water, or even
military protection from Hamas rockets. (It should be noted, however, that despite this discrimination
the Bedouin prefer life in Israel to neighboring countries.)
Following the creation of the independent
Regional Council of Unrecognized Villages, a few villages are slowly being recognized and
getting crucial services. However, the government's official
Negev 2015 project, planning to haul in 200,000 additional citizens,
ignores the problem.
(PDF)
Israeli bulldozing of Bedouin villages has occurred
intermittently for decades. Individual buildings seem to be targeted, such as an
eco-mosque built by international volunteers. Yesterday's destruction of
an entire village is comparatively unusual. The police, for their part, claimed the residents
all had homes elsewhere.
A rewrite of this deleted post.
posted by HLD at 1:17 PM on July 28, 2010 [3 favorites]