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Wanderers No More: A Generation of Change Among the Bedouin of Israel
| Article
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20329 |
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Section : |
CULTURE
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| Issue
Date : |
6 / 1992 |
2,834 Words |
| Author
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Nechemia Meyers
Nechemia Meyers, affiliated with the Weizmann Institute of
Science in Rehovot, Israel, has previously published two
articles in The World & I: Israel and the Far East: Growing
Links Between Jews and Asians (January 1989) and Bar Kokhba: A
Two-Millennia Debate (July 1990). |
The Bedouin traditionally have been portrayed as camel-borne nobility moving unimpeded through a vast desert realm. This romantic image was never completely accurate, and it is becoming steadily less so in Israel. Today, largely as a result of government initiatives, 50 percent of Israel's Bedouin population lives in new towns and villages that have sprung up over the last few decades. The present generation is experiencing social and cultural change at an unprecedented rate. How the Bedouin are dealing with this process, its effects and implications, is only barely understood.
Before the middle of this century, the Bedouin represented only a small percentage of those living in the Middle Eastern deserts, but as nomads they ranged through a massive portion of the area. Arabic-speaking Semitic peoples, they were loosely organized in matrilineal tribal communities that migrated to cultivated areas during the dry months and returned with their animals to the desires during the rainy season.
Unlike urban Arabs, who identify themselves by occupation and nationality, the caste-conscious Bedouin identified themselves by tribe and prestige. Camel-tending nomads were most admired, then the herders of sheep and goats; those who tended cattle came in third. Some lower-ranked Bedouin engaged in forms of service and craft work, such as blacksmiths, tinkers, artisans, and entertainers. In general, the Bedouin despised agricultural work and the settled life of town or village communities. However, after World War I ended, the Bedouin were obliged to submit to national governments, and since World War II they have become increasingly sedentary. In the 1950s their lands were nationalized in Saudi Arabia and Syria, and Jordan limited Bedouin grazing rights.
Most Israeli Bedouin live in the Negev Desert, though some reside in Galilee. There have been periodic disputes between the state and its resident Bedouin over land ownership; some have been settled and other continue. In general, however, Bedouin have cooperated with the national government. Indeed, many young Bedouin have volunteered for service with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
There have been Bedouin members of the 120-member Knesset in the past; one even attained the rank of deputy minister. However, there are no Bedouin among the seven Arabs presently sitting in government. After the June 23 elections there almost certainly will be more Arabs in the legislature, and quite possibly there will be a Bedouin member. It should be noted that, as a result of their growing
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