T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association today urged Members of Knesset to reconsider the “Bill on the Arrangement of Bedouin Settlement in the Negev.” This legislation, which seeks to resolve longstanding land disputes between Bedouin Israelis and the state, will likely lead to the expulsion of 30,000 to 40,000 Bedouin Israelis from their homes and to the demolition of more than two dozen villages. Knesset members approved the first reading of the bill with a vote of 43 for and 40 against on June 24 following a contentious floor debate. The bill will now be sent to the Committee for Interior Affairs and Environment to be prepared for the second and final readings which could occur before the closing of the Knesset session at the end of July 2013.
Bedouin community leaders and their supporters have been outspoken in rejecting the plan as discriminatory, failing to recognize historical Bedouin land rights, and threatening their traditional clan structures and agrarian ways of life.
“Demolishing homes, forcing people off their land, and denying basic government services contradicts the moral values central to Judaism, and on which the State of Israel was founded,” said Rabbi Jill Jacobs, Executive Director of T’ruah.
“Israel’s own Declaration of Independence proclaimed that the State of Israel was founded on principles of ‘freedom, justice and peace as envisioned by the prophets of the Jewish people,’” said Rabbi Jason Klein, President of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association. “The opening chapter of the Torah affirms the fundamental importance of equality as all of humanity is created in the Divine image.”
“We urge Prime Minister Netanyahu to suspend the plan currently under discussion and allow for greater exploration of its implications and impact, particularly the displacement of existing Bedouin communities,” said Rabbi David Saperstein, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.
T’ruah, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association understand the state’s desire to resolve the ongoing land disputes with the Bedouin and ensure the well-being of those currently living in areas without regular access to water, electricity, and other services and we believe that regulation is needed in the Negev. However, it is clear that more research is necessary to investigate the possible consequences of this plan and its implementation. Any plan to resettle members of the Bedouin community must be developed with leaders of that community rather than be forced upon them. The sense of displacement, along with potential for increased poverty and violence, that will accompany the dismantling of unrecognized villages is very real and must be treated with the utmost sensitivity.
Read more about Bedouin human rights here:
https://www.truah.org/issuescampaigns/bedouin.html