As Israel prepares to go to the polls on March 17th, RHR encourages all to bring the values of human rights with them into the booth. We therefore will be releasing the stated platforms of the political parties on the human rights issues we work on. First is the issue of the Bedouin Negev, below. We encourage all to read over the information and make a decision based on the value of honoring the Image of God in all of humankind.
Party Platforms – Bedouins
The struggle of the Bedouins for recognition of their right to the lands in their unrecognized communities, predominantly in the Negev, has reached new heights in recent years. The Prawer Plan, which sought to impose a solution, was frozen. Despite this, only four parties referenced the issue of the Bedouin in their party platforms.
General Summary of the party positions on the Negev Bedouin
Two parties called for the cancellation of the Prawer Plan – Meretz and the Joint List. Both stated that the plan provided no answer to the needs of the Bedouin, and therefore it must be cancelled. The Joint List calls for the recognition of all the currently unrecognized communities.
Meretz, the Zionist Union, and Yesh Atid state that any resolution on the status of the Bedouin villages must be done in cooperation with the residents of the villages. Meretz states that there must be a freeze on all demolition orders until an agreed-upon solution is reached.
All the parties whose platforms make reference to the Bedouin issue deal with the need for equality and investment in education, health care and welfare in Bedouin communities.
Yesh Atid sees an interest in encouraging Bedouins to enlist in the IDF and participate in National Service.
Habayit Hayehudi (The Jewish Home) sees the Bedouins as those who threaten sovereignty over the lands of the state, due to what they refer to as “illegal construction,” to which the response must be the enforcement of the law and the settling of Jews in place of the Bedouins.
Yisrael Beiteinu does not explicitly mention Bedouins in its platform, but it does contain a sentence that refers to the Bedouin population in the context of the struggle against crime, including the theft of state lands, and regarding illegal construction.
Excerpts from the Platforms:
The Zionist Union
- Formulating a new outline to resolving the status of the unrecognized Bedouin communities of the Negev through ongoing dialogue and cooperation with the residents of those communities and their representatives, and through consideration of the needs vis-a-vis planning, development, and environmental protection.
- Providing public services to the unrecognized Bedouin villages concurrently with the formulation of the above outline, in accordance with the High Court.
Meretz
- Cancellation of the “Prawer Law”
- Finding an immediate and fair solution to the problem of the unrecognized villages and the issue of Bedouin lands in cooperation with the residents of the villages
- Freezing of all demolition orders on houses in these villages until an agreed-upon solution is reached.
Yesh Atid
- Through dialogue with the leaders of the Bedouin sector, and through mutual understanding and desire to arrive at a resolution, particularly on the issue of land, we will arrive at a gradual agreement, agreed-upon with the Bedouin sector. We will strive to find an agreed-upon solution that will realize the wishes of both sides, and create a better future for the Bedouin sector of the State of Israel.
The Joint List
- Recognition of all the unrecognized Bedouin communities, especially in the Negev, discarding the Prawer outline in all forms, and expanding the planning of Arab communities.
Yisrael Beiteinu
- We will place central emphasis on the struggle against crime, including: organized crime, drug use, violence and public corruption and the theft of state lands and illegal construction.
The Jewish Home
- The State of Israel is losing lands in the Galilee and the Negev. Massive illegal construction by Negev Bedouins is leading to the deterioration of areas, of the rule of laws, and the active/practical sovereignty of the state over the country. We will act to enforce law and order in the Negev and the Galilee, to deal thoroughly with illegal construction and the unauthorized seizure of lands and to strengthen Jewish settlement in the area.
RELATED: Additional information on the situation of the Negev Bedouin
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