Negev Bedouin Research Articles

Bedouin Children and Their Reality Perceptions of the War Between Israel and Gaza

In the military conflict between Israel and Gaza, the Bedouins in Israel find themselves under attack by rockets launched from Gaza, and at the same time identifying with family members in Gaza who suffer casualties as a result of Israel’s operations. Bedouin children experience a threat to their safety, and are required to enter protected spaces when the siren sounds. Simultaneously, they are exposed to the Arab media, which one-sidedly views Israel as the aggressor. This study examines this complex situation from the perspective of Bedouin children aged 8–10, using children’s drawings and letters, interviews, and conversations with their mothers. The findings reflect the children’s complicated impression of the world, manifested in identification with the residents of Gaza and their suffering, anxiety concerning their own safety, and development of post-traumatic stress disorder. They have difficulty constructing a coherent picture of the world, and develop perceptions containing distortions of reality with regard to aggressor and victim. The findings indicate the need for professional intervention which, in addition to building a psychological assistance system, would provide parents with guidance to help them mediate the complex reality for their children in a structured and informed way, and hence enable them to better contend with it.‏

Novel GUCY2D mutation causes phenotypic variability of Leber congenital amaurosis ina large kindred.

BackgroundLeber congenital amaurosis (LCA) is a severe retinal degenerative disease that manifests as blindness or poor vision in infancy. The purpose of this study was to clinically characterize and identify the cause of disease in a large inbred Bedouin Israeli tribe with LCA.MethodsThirty individuals of a single kindred, including eight affected with LCA, were recruited for this study. Patients’ clinical data and electroretinography (ERG) findings were collected. Molecular analysis included homozygosity mapping with polymorphic markers and Sanger sequencing of candidate genes.ResultsOf the eight affected individuals of the kindred, nystagmus was documented in five subjects and keratoconus in three. Cataract was found in 5 of 16 eyes. Photopic and scotopic ERG performed in 5 patients were extinguished. All affected subjects were nearly blind, their visual acuity ranged between finger counting and uncertain light perception. Assuming autosomal recessive heredity of a founder mutation, studies using polymorphic markers excluded homozygosity of affected individuals at the genomic loci of all previously known genes associated with LCA, except GUCY2D. Sequencing of GUCY2D identified a novel missense mutation (c.2129C>T; p.Ala710Val) resulting in substitution of alanine by valine at position 710 within the protein kinase domain of the retina-specific enzyme guanylate cyclase 1 (GC1) encoded by GUCY2D. Molecular modeling implied that the mutation changes the conformation of the regulatory segment within the kinase styk-domain of GC1 and causes loss of its helical structure, likely inhibiting phosphorylation of threonine residue within this segment, which is needed to activate the catalytic domain of the protein.ConclusionsThis is the first documentation of the p.Ala710Val mutation in GC1 and the second ever described mutation in its protein kinase domain. Our findings enlarge the scope of genetic variability of LCA, highlight the phenotypic heterogeneity found amongst individuals harboring an identical LCA mutation, and possibly provide hope for gene therapy in patients with this congenital blinding disease. As the Bedouin kindred studied originates from Saudi Arabia, the mutation found might be an ancient founder mutation in that large community.

Islamic political activism among Israel’s Negev Bedouin population

This paper examines Islamic political activism among the Bedouin Arab citizens of Israel who reside in the Negev/Naqab (southern Israel). It describes how a religious-political movement became the dominant political force among the non-Jewish communities of the Negev, in doing so, this paper explores the link between religious-political ideology, represented by the Islamic movement, and tribalism, the dominant social-cultural influence among this population. While this paper is a first cut at trying to understand these linkages, I suggest that Israeli Islamist political leaders have mobilized support in two interconnected ways. First, they have attracted support through dawa (religious education), social-welfare activities, and mobilizing symbols. Second, Islamic political activists have worked within and exploited one of the most salient features of Bedouin life, tribalism, by recruiting support from the lower-status, largely urbanized, and landless tribes. These activities have taken place within the broader context of a changing landscape of identity within these communities of the Negev.

Functional codeswitching and register in educated Negev Arabic interview style

AbstractThe sociolinguistic phenomenon of codeswitching, both diglossic and bilingual (Arabic–Hebrew), is extremely pervasive in all varieties of Palestinian Arabic, including Negev Arabic. Surprisingly, neither of these types of codeswitching in Palestinian Arabic has received due scholarly attention; moreover, their interplay has not been studied for any type of Arabic. This article analyses quantitative and functional aspects of diglossic and bilingual codeswitching in the personal interview style of 11 Negev Bedouin female students, focusing on their functional interaction. In the five distinct registers analysed, ratios of both diglossic and bilingual codeswitching were found to rise from childhood narratives to recounts of the period of academic studies and expository sections, with the use of Hebraisms dropping in the more formal registers. Although mixed bilingual discourse with intensive codeswitching is the default style for in-group discourse of the young generation, I show that many switches are not random, but fulfil discourse-pragmatic, communicative, social and textual functions typical of each of the registers. For example, in the narrative registers, switching may mark evaluation (commenting, explaining, self-repair, sidetracking, repetition). In both narrative and non-narrative discourse it may mark quotations, rephrasing or paraphrasing, with or without a metalinguistic introducing particle such as ‘as they say’. The result is redundancy at the referential level, with pragmatic functions of emphasizing or elaborating at the discourse level. This is in keeping with functions identified for bilingual codeswitching in general and also for diglossic codeswitching in Arabic; but it is the first effort, as far as I know, to combine analysis of the two codeswitching dimensions in any given code; and, moreover, to study the interplay of this bi-dimensional switching with relation to the stylistic factors of genre and register.

Bedouin Rights, Bedouin Representations: Dynamics of Representation in the Naqab Bedouin Advocacy Industry

This article looks at the representations of Naqab Bedouin in Bedouin advocacy NGOs, and their relationship to changing dynamics of Palestinian and Israeli nationalism, and to wider dynamics of control and risk management. Much has been written on the folklorisation of Bedouin culture, and on representations of the Bedouin in development. The Bedouin have been important as a traditional Other for a modern Israel, and as the ‘Negev Bedouin’ a transitional society and object of development. These ideas have been refashioned by a new body of knowledge on the Naqab Bedouin created by NGO advocacy, highlighting different aspects of Bedouin marginalisation, placing them within different rights frameworks of variously framed ‘Palestinian’, ‘indigenous’, ‘minority’ or ‘civil’ rights. This article looks at the construction of the Bedouin as an object for advocacy by Bedouin NGOs for a wider audience, and particularly how these representations have presented challenges to the control regime around the Naqab Bedouin. The post-OIslo transformation has been resonant with evolving new forms of control and exploitation in contemporary capitalism that channel Bedouin claims within national and international norms and frameworks, and are guided by the modalities of risk management and considering the Bedouin as a risk. I argue that this evolving structure of risk-based governance is reformulating Israel/Palestine, and this is where the Naqab has relevance for the dynamics of the wider Middle East.

Dignity Takings and Dispossession in Israel

This article examines the concept ofdignity takings, as developed by Bernadette Atuahene, and its applicability to the Israeli situation, focusing on takings from the Arab-Palestinian minority in Israel. Although I find dignity takings a valuable concept, as it emphasizes the interconnections between land dispossession and the denial of human dignity, I offer some qualifications and suggestions. I then examine the applicability of the concept to the dispossession of Arabs/Palestinians in Israel through two case studies: one, a close reading of the (in)famous Ikrit villagers' dispossession; the other, an examination of the dispossession of Negev (southern Israel) Bedouin citizens of Israel, which takes place, not unlike terra nullius, simultaneously with a denial of this very taking. The article concludes that with some modifications, the concept of dignity taking applies to the situation of Arab/Palestinian citizens of Israel.

Contentious Realities: Politics of Creating an Image Archive with the Negev Bedouin in Southern Israel

This paper discusses the politics of creating an image archive amidst local Bedouin historicity in Southern Israel. To do so, it summarizes an archival initiative conducted during my fieldwork in Rāhaṭ, Israel between 2011 and 2013, which broadly examined the presence and values of images in their society. I suggest that members compete over historical resources in attempts to augment limited cultural capital in the Negev, making efforts to collect and exhibit ‘shared’ histories contentious. This is particularly the case when local societies consider archival images rare artefacts and thus objects to be owned and protected. This paper concludes that control over archives and image objects, and the past, present, and future ideals to which they are used, is far from uniform amongst peripheral peoples in the Middle East. Visual evidence and the histories and presents it serves are indelibly localized within the prevailing status negotiations and current spatial divisions between Bedouin members in the Negev.

Access to higher education and its socio-economic impact among Bedouin Arabs in Southern Israel

This paper explores minority access to higher education in Israel in general, and among the Negev Bedouin Arabs, in particular. The Negev Bedouin community has undergone major changes during the past 60 years, and has the lowest socio-economic level of any population group in Israel. Higher education plays a prominent role in determining a community's competitiveness in the world marketplace. In most societies, it is also recognized as a major avenue to greater economic rewards and social mobility, making it of vital importance to those groups on the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder of society. The provision of public educational services to the Negev Bedouin, admissions procedures and standardized testing, financial assistance policies, and the socio-economic and political impact of higher education in Israel are examined in-depth. The paper concludes that the following structural and policy changes are needed to improve the access of the Negev Bedouin community to higher education: better quality elementary and secondary education, financial aid, removal of minimum age requirements, and culturally unbiased measures for admissions screening.

Relations between Mothers and Adolescent Daughters in the Israeli Bedouin Society Characterized by Education of Traditional Values

In recent decades, the Bedouin population in Galilee, in Northern Israel, experienced significant multifaceted changes. Exposure to other cultures and other social components, with which this population had very limited interaction in the past, had affected its norms and behavior patterns and caused adaption of manners and values that had not been tolerated in the past. As school in Israel is compulsory and local high school served various segments of the society, all Arab minority children faced a different reality from the one their parents had to cope with. This fast-changing modern reality affected the adolescents and often led to tensions and difficulties between youngsters and parents in general, and daughters and mothers in particular. The following is a summary of a qualitative study conducted among selected number of working educated mothers in this particular sector. The research method was an open semi structured interviews and one on one conversations. All interactions with the researcher had been conducted in Arabic, recorded and translated into English.

The N Terminus of Pro-endothelial Monocyte-activating Polypeptide II (EMAP II) Regulates Its Binding with the C Terminus, Arginyl-tRNA Synthetase, and Neurofilament Light Protein

Pro-endothelial monocyte-activating polypeptide II (EMAP II), one component of the multi-aminoacyl tRNA synthetase complex, plays multiple roles in physiological and pathological processes of protein translation, signal transduction, immunity, lung development, and tumor growth. Recent studies have determined that pro-EMAP II has an essential role in maintaining axon integrity in central and peripheral neural systems where deletion of the C terminus of pro-EMAP II has been reported in a consanguineous Israeli Bedouin kindred suffering from Pelizaeus-Merzbacher-like disease. We hypothesized that the N terminus of pro-EMAP II has an important role in the regulation of protein-protein interactions. Using a GFP reporter system, we defined a putative leucine zipper in the N terminus of human pro-EMAP II protein (amino acid residues 1-70) that can form specific strip-like punctate structures. Through GFP punctum analysis, we uncovered that the pro-EMAP II C terminus (amino acids 147-312) can repress GFP punctum formation. Pulldown assays confirmed that the binding between the pro-EMAP II N terminus and its C terminus is mediated by a putative leucine zipper. Furthermore, the pro-EMAP II 1-70 amino acid region was identified as the binding partner of arginyl-tRNA synthetase, a polypeptide of the multi-aminoacyl tRNA synthetase complex. We also determined that the punctate GFP pro-EMAP II 1-70 amino acid aggregate colocalizes and binds to the neurofilament light subunit protein that is associated with pathologic neurofilament network disorganization and degeneration of motor neurons. These findings indicate the structure and binding interaction of pro-EMAP II protein and suggest a role of this protein in pathological neurodegenerative diseases.

Inflammatory bowel disease among Bedouin Arabs in southern Israel: urbanization and increasing prevalence rates.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been associated with genetic and environmental factors, including urban living. IBD was rare in the Israeli Bedouin community 30 years ago. Over recent decades, a large proportion of this community has undergone a transition from a nomadic to a western lifestyle. Our aim was to carry out an updated evaluation of the clinical and epidemiological features of IBD in the Bedouin sector of southern Israel. All Bedouin patients with a known diagnosis of Crohn's disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC) were included in the retrospective study. The cohort included 31 CD patients and 31 UC patients. The mean age of the patients at diagnosis was 29±10.9 and 35±17.5 years for CD and UC, respectively. The prevalence rate for CD was 15.5/100,000 and the incidence rate was 0.8-3.55/100,000. Fourteen of the CD patients (45%) had ileal disease and 64.5% had inflammatory disease behavior according to the Montreal classification. Eleven of the CD patients (35%) were treated with anti-TNF-α and 26% had undergone surgery. Over the previous decade, the prevalence of UC was 14/100,000 and the incidence was 0.5-2.39/100,000. Eighteen UC patients (58%) had left-sided colitis. Three (9.7%) had undergone total colectomy for severe disease. We found an increased prevalence of IBD in the Bedouin population, associated with their change in lifestyle over previous decades. However, the prevalence is still markedly lower than that in other population groups. A high percentage of patients were treated with anti-TNF-α and/or surgery.

Qualitative Analysis of Spelling Errors in Arabic among Bedouin Elementary School Pupils

Studies explored spelling errors of consonants in the written form of Arabic among the Bedouin pupils of the Negev in elementary school found significantly lower scores for these pupils in comparison with triangle pupils for real word task and for real word recognition task, mainly in the second grade. Also, pupils from the Bedouin sector found difficulty with the representation of emphatic phonemes, and represented them by a similar soft phoneme. In order to better understand the sources of difficulty found in the former studies, this study focused on spelling errors of consonants among Negev Bedouin children through two writing tasks. The results indicate that most of the spelling errors among 2 nd graders seem to be primarily phonetic in nature, as a result of confusion between similar sounding phonemes in Arabic. Another source of error seems to be attracted to the diglossic nature of Arabic: native Bedouin speakers are exposed to the Negev vernaculars from birth (L1), and are systematically exposed to the written form of Arabic at school. It is therefore suggested that the effect of colloquial phonology on spelling among diglossic children should be taken into consideration by language teachers as well as by teacher training institutions.

Traditional Cautery for Medical Treatment Among the Bedouins of Southern Israel.

Traditional cautery for the cure of disease is an ancient and widespread mode of treatment in various cultures and is a central modality among Israeli Bedouins. To date the use of this treatment has not been assessed systematically. A personal interview was conducted among Muslim Bedouin patients who came to clinics in the Negev region in southern Israel. There were 250 participants including 128 women (51.2%). The mean age was 45.16±16.2 (range 18-86). Eighty nine (35.7%) of the participants declared that they had personally undergone curative cautery therapy in the past. Two hundred and five (82%) were familiar with this mode of therapy. Two thirds of those who underwent the treatment in the past said that it helped them a great deal and another 19% said that it helped them somewhat. More men underwent the therapy than women (P=0.034), believed in its effectiveness (P=0.013), and declared that they were prepared to use it again in the future (P<0.0001). Elderly patients, over the age of 61, used this therapy more than younger ones (P=0.001). The majority of the Bedouin population in the Negev is familiar with cautery and a significant part of the population has personally undergone this therapy and believes that it is effective.

International Law in Transit: The Concept of 'Indigenous Peoples' and its Travel between International and National Realms - The Example of the Negev Bedouin

By placing law and society in discussion with one another, this paper traces the development of legal norms that travel between international and national realms. To demonstrate this phenomenon, the paper studies the concept of indigenous peoples, in particular its conceptualization and legalization, which begins in the international and then moves between the national and the local. The paper begins with an examination of the concept of indigenous peoples, which is informed by several other disciplines, before looking at attempts to define it in international law. Here, we see the evolution of the international concept is led by InterGovernmental Organizations — the United Nations, the ILO and the World Bank — that have been wrestling with a definition of indigenous peoples since the turn of the 20th century. With a basic understanding of how indigenous peoples is defined, the next part engages with theoretical and methodological questions in order to elucidate the travel of the international concept. In short, we can explain the travel of the international concept of indigenous peoples through a dual process of translation and appropriation from the international into the vernacular. Illustrative for the purpose of this paper is the case of the Bedouin in the Negev, who are increasingly using the international concept of indigenous peoples, and engaging in the indigenous peoples’ movement, transnational networks and programmatic activities. The Bedouin inhabitants of the unrecognized village of Al-Araqib utilize and mobilize the concept in Israeli courts and advocacy efforts, which, in turn, makes the concept active and effective nationally and locally. What will become clear is that the travel of law and the interplay between the international and the national not only produces inconsistencies, uncertainties and indeterminacy at the theoretical level, but also produces tensions, hybridities, frictions and new subjectivities and new legal and political dynamics at the national and international level.

Israel Negev Bedouin during the 1948 War: Departure and Return

While much has been written on various aspects of the 1948 War, the story of the Negev Bedouins' role and their relations with the newly formed Jewish state has drawn little attention. This article focuses on a short but important episode in the establishment of Israeli–Bedouin relations by examining the Negev Bedouin involvement in the 1948 War, predominantly on the side of the Arab armies, and the circumstances of their departure. Its findings contradict previous academic narratives and baseless statements regarding Bedouin–Israeli relations, including unfulfilled promises by the Israeli authorities to recognize Bedouin claims to land rights.

Bread Fortification Program for the Bedouin of Rahat, Israel

The Bedouin populace of southern Israel, the Negev, consists of 215,000, 20% of the region's population. This population is in transition from the traditional semi-nomadic lifestyle to modern and permanent settlements. Most Negev Bedouins are comprised of large families living under low social economic status. Their healthy dietary patterns have also been negatively affected by the change as seen in a decline in the consummation of whole wheat bread. Nutritional deficiencies are prevalent. Infants at age 6 months exhibit …

Brucellosis in the Bedouin Society- health promotion and outbreak control

Brucellosis is an infectious bacteria disease contracted from animals. Poor hygiene, animal breeding methods and traditional food preparations are the main contributory factors to the proliferation among the Southern Israel Negev Bedouin. The raising of livestock still has great importance in Bedouin life; many maintain flocks of sheep goats and camels by their homes resulting in a higher exposure to Brucellosis. Infectious Disease Notifications of Brucellosis new cases are required, by law, …

Le sort des Bédouins du Néguev : quels enseignements pour la construction politique et idéologique de l’État d’Israël ?

Cet article de recherche correspond à une enquête de terrain en vue d’analyser la place de la population bédouine du Néguev dans la société israélienne. Cette étude, première étape d’un projet de doctorat, introduit des éléments de réflexion sur la signification du sort réservé aux Bédouins de cette région, au sein d’un État jeune, encore soucieux de justifier son existence. En effet, les mécanismes politiques de la construction du pays semblent à l’origine du refus de prendre en considération les revendications de ces habitants, qui possèdent pourtant la citoyenneté israélienne.

From white stone to blue bead: materialized beliefs and sacred beads among the bedouin in israel

ABSTRACTThe Bedouin of southern Israel have long used healing beads of stone or coral to treat various physical ailments (such as wounds and infections). These beads, which constitute a sociocultural linchpin in Bedouin society, are now being replaced by a more modern variety: glass or plastic beads, mostly blue in color and used primarily to counter the evil eye. This article deals with the recent change in the function and appearance of Bedouin healing beads from handmade, rare and unique beads to cheap, mass-produced items. This material change conforms with a more extensive shift in traditional Bedouin healing practices from treating physical ailments to addressing spiritual hardship.

Prevalence of consanguineous marriages and associated factors among Israeli Bedouins.

The Bedouin population in Israel is a semi-nomadic traditional patriarchal society. Consanguineous marriages are very common, contributing to high rates of congenital malformations and genetic diseases, resulting in high infant mortality. Data on consanguineous marriages among Bedouins in Israel are limited. This study examined the current prevalence of consanguineous marriages and their determinants among Israeli Bedouins. One thousand two hundred ninety Bedouin women who delivered in the maternity wards of the only hospital serving the Bedouin population were interviewed between November 2009 and January 2010. The prevalence of consanguineous marriages was 44.8%. The most common type of spousal relationship was first cousins (65.7% of all consanguineous marriages). The mean inbreeding coefficient was 0.0238. Factors significantly associated with consanguinity were less years of schooling (OR 0.94, 95% CI (0.88-0.99), p = 0.02) and younger age at marriage of the wife (OR 0.90, 95% CI (0.80-0.96), p = 0.0002). In conclusion, the rate of consanguineous marriages among Bedouins is very high, making this population at risk for congenital malformations and genetic diseases. Efforts should be directed at better education and provision of premarital and prenatal counseling on the health consequences of consanguineous marriages and the possibilities to lower those risks.