Blogging the UK Task Force Study Trip in the Negev: Day Two

Day Two: 20/02/2012

"She named him Joseph, saying, may God add another son for me."  (Exodus 30:24)

Today we met a young woman who is studying at Ben Gurion University of the Negev.  She comes from a Bedouin village and convinced her parents to support her higher education only by promising to cover her head and keep away from boys.  She has overcome culture shock and language barriers in this new environment that has also made her acutely aware of her own disadvantage; but she is intelligent, confident and determined to get good education.  When she graduates she will return to her village and face the challenge of bridging the two worlds.  She will have to decide which traditional norms to confront and which to accept in return for continued freedom to work and study.  Pursuing a love match or a foreign opportunity would entail her being cut off entirely so she will agree to enter into an arranged marriage and try to juggle a local career with the culturally-expected role of mother to a large family.

During this second day of the UK Task Force Study Trip, we explored social issues and social provision within the Bedouin communities of the Negev.  A panel of healthcare specialists highlighted the high instance of genetic disorders caused by a 50% rate of consanguineous marriages and explained the problems with access to healthcare in the unrecognised villages.  Amny Athamne of Health Care for Mothers and Infants described ways that health promotion initiatives are improving attitudes towards healthcare in the Bedouin community.  Some panel members also expressed the view that most problems in the Bedouin community stem from Bedouin culture itself and that change has to come from within.

An enchanting evening at Be'er Sheva's top Moroccan restaurant with acclaimed Israeli author, Amos Oz, was at the same time entertaining, uplifting and delicious.  But it did little to alleviate the overwhelming sense of confusion that had grown in my mind throughout this emotionally draining day.  On the one hand, we have already witnessed a humanitarian need and heard a Bedouin narrative of oppression that necessitates an urgent and comprehensive response from the State.  And we have a moral responsibility as Jews, in whose name the State exists, to hold Israel accountable and to expect her policies to reflect the highest Jewish values.

On the other hand, we were challenged to question the underlying values of traditional Bedouin culture itself.  Certain customs and ideas may be contributing factors to the situation and they are factors about which the Israeli government can do nothing without being accused of colonialism.  Lest we are tempted to judge these customs too quickly, we should notice how uncannily that are reflected in our own Biblical ancestors.   Abraham married a close relative, Isaac migrated to find food and pasture for his flocks and Jacob had two wives, two concubines and thirteen children.  Our matriarchs also felt similar pressures to the Bedouin women.  "Rachel saw that she had not born a child to Jacob and she was jealous of her sister and she said to Jacob: Make me a son or I will die." (Genesis 30:1)   Even the birth of Joseph does not sooth her competitive anxiety. "She named him Joseph, saying; may God add ('yosif') another son for me."  (Exodus 30:24)

If the health panel created confusion and threw up difficult questions, today's education panel, on which the female Bedouin students spoke alongside the Rector of Ben Gurion University and other academics, seemed to provide some hope of an answer.  In towns and villages where young Bedouin have access to a good education, the socio-economic situation is slowly improving as the community finds ways to embrace the modern world while preserving elements of its culture.  Birth rates naturally drop with increased affluence and greater integration between tribes leads to a lower incidence of consanguinity.  In families where the father is open-minded enough to allow his daughter to further her education, women are slowly becoming more empowered to question the absolute power of the patriarchy.

Rahat is the largest of the government-planned Bedouin towns and is perhaps an example of this process.  33 neighbourhoods surround a town centre that has reasonably modern facilities, including schools!  Although 60% of the population is under 18 and they have to create a new Nursery School every few months, the birth rate in Rahat is actually almost half what it is in the unrecognised villages.  New neighbourhoods and a business park are under construction and the mayor, at least, is cautiously hopeful about the future.  Comparing Rahat to North West London, some of my travelling companions thought the town was 'pretty grim' but I thought it quite pleasant and not very different to small Jewish towns in Israel or to the suburbs of Jerusalem.  The Prawer plan seeks to further urbanise the Bedouin community and Rahat seems to be living proof that this could improve quality of life.  But scratching beneath the surface of the Rahat's successes, one can find a resentment from which the the Israeli government should and could learn as it considers its next steps.

Previous migration of Bedouin communities into urban areas was imposed and enforced.  While strong Bedouin leaders in Rahat are changing the local reality by taking back leadership from external powers, other towns and villages are suffering from town-planning that still does not reflects the community's lifestyle and insufficient provision of services to a growing population.  When I asked the mayor if he thought Rahat's success should encourage the State to continue its plan of urbanization, his reply was very telling.  "I only hope they will not have to go through what we went through in order to get to where we are today."  His words may be the key to the successful resolution of this conflict.  Change has got to come from within in order to be effective but a disempowered, disadvantaged community cannot bring about such changes alone.  Education is the only way to empower a disadvantaged group to take on its own development and leadership; and even the education has to be done in partnership with the community itself.  "Give education to a wise man and he will become wiser but teach a righteous man and he will add to learning."  (Proverbs 9:9)