The plan for the fair treatment of Bedouin-Israelis exists deserves political support.
Drafting of the Alternative Master Plan for the Unrecognized Bedouin Villages in the Negev was rigorous and inclusive; the failure has been on the part of every government representative since the plan’s 2012 publication to consider it.
Dozens of Negev Bedouin were part of the planning process, and the professional planners at Bimkom translated the needs of the Bedouin into planning terms that fit into the current standard structures of Israeli city planning.
Recognizing small Bedouin farming villages is exactly what Bimkom concluded and proposed, that a modified version of the plans for a moshav would suit the Bedouin communities and be flexible enough to account for different needs in differently sized villages. The planners made the right plan, it just needs to be implemented.
Jews have a moral obligation to move forward with this plan. The Prophet Micah warned about abusing power to seize property and the impact it can have on a people: “And they covet fields, and seize them; and [they covet] houses, and take them away; thus they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.” As a nation of people that knows what it means to be an oppressed minority, Israel has a moral obligation to protect the most vulnerable within its midst.
We should support the Israeli members of Knesset such as MK Ayman Odeh and MK Dov Khenin who have actively and publicly worked to help the Bedouin communities get the recognition they deserve.
