T’ruah condemns the ongoing demolition of Bedouin villages across the West Bank and in the Negev, including the destruction of homes, mosques, and schools. The most recent violation of Bedouin-Israeli rights occurred today in the village of Khan al-Ahmar, northeast of Jerusalem. Khan al-Ahmar is home to more than 100 people, more than half of whom are children, and is the location of the only school in the area that, along with all other structures in the village, is slated for demolition.
The ongoing demolition of Bedouin villages is seemingly part of the current Israeli government’s long game of rendering a contiguous Palestinian homeland and two-state solution impossible by destroying Bedouin-Israeli villages to make way for Jewish-Israeli settlements, carving up the West Bank
Since 2012, the Israeli government has been forcing Bedouin residents into a different area in the Jordan valley, a move which is incompatible with Bedouin society and culture. The demolition of Bedouin-Israeli villages has increased in frequency since the start of the Trump Administration which, as evidenced by it nomination of two-state opponent David Friedman to US Ambassador to Israel, shows no sign of intervening on behalf of the Bedouin like previous administrations and world leaders have done.
The demolition of Khan al-Ahmar and other villages like it violate the human rights of Bedouin-Israeli citizens, and threaten the security of both Israelis and Palestinians living in the area. A legal system which continually privileges Jewish settlers in the West Bank over Palestinians hinders peace, fairness and democracy.
Three thousand years ago, Abraham appealed to Lot, “.אַל-נָא תְהִי מְרִיבָה בֵּינִי וּבֵינֶךָ וּבֵין רֹעַי וּבֵין רֹעֶיךָ כִּי-אֲנָשִׁים אַחִים אֲנָחְנוּ”, “Let there not be strife between me and you, between your shepherds and mine, for we are brethren.”
Abraham understood that it was possible to respect the rights of others and take steps to end conflict by ensuring that Lot had space of his own choosing for his family and flocks. We call on the Israeli government to follow Abraham’s example and cease threats against Khan al-Ahmar and other villages like it.
