Negev Bedouin Research Articles

Science and education across cultures: another look at the Negev Bedouins and their environmental management practices

This is a rejoinder to the original article written by Wisam Sedawi, Orit Ben Zvi Assaraf, and Julie Cwikel about waste-related implication on the welfare of children living in the Negev’s Bedouin Arab community. More specifically, the authors discuss the role of environmental education in the improvement of participants’ life conditions. They do so by analyzing the impact of current precarious waste management practices on children’s health and proposing the implementation of a science study unit in school that could assist them in dealing with the problem. My argument here is divided in three parts: first, based on the original article’s information, I comment on some important characteristics of those unrecognized settlements and their waste production practices; second, I try to determine what kind of environmental education—if any—is necessary in that context to promote the desired changes put forward by the authors; and third, I adopt a cross-cultural approach to science and environmental literacy as means to provoke readers to consider the scientific value (often neglected) of traditional knowledge in attempting to solve the issues described in the original paper. In addition, both the Tbilisi Intergovernmental Conference on Environmental Education (1977) and the Treaty on Environmental Education for Sustainable Societies and Global Responsibility (1992) are used to support my argument, which also encompasses the concept of empowerment. Ultimately, bridging the Bedouin’s traditional knowledge and Western modern science can help to improve science education at the school level in the unrecognized township under study by linking present and past in search of a more sustainable and peaceful future.

From congruent to non-congruent spaces: Dynamics of Bedouin production of space in Israel

The speed with which the Negev Bedouin have been undergoing processes of change through induced sedentarization and urbanization provides a rare opportunity of revealing the dynamic nature of the production of space. Following the Lefebvrian framework of the production of space, attributes of perceived, conceived and lived facets of production of space are investigated in relation to economically distinct Bedouin communities (semi-nomadic pastoralists, sedentary farmers and urban wage laborers) that represent different stages along the transition process. We offer a distinction between Bedouin endogenously oriented space and exogenously oriented space and analyze the dialectical nature and dynamics of the production of hybrid spaces. The context within which such dialectical movements occur affects the congruence between the three facets of Bedouin space and, as a result, their ability to maintain a structured coherence between society, environment and economy.

Impaired Bone Formation in TRIC-B-Knockout Mice

Osteogenesis imperfect (OI) is a heritable bone dysplasia characterized by bone fragility, but has divergent phenotypic manifestations, suggesting heterogeneous OI-responsible genes in the human genome. Most of OI cases result from defected type I collagen; structural mutations and altered post-translational modifications lead to its insufficient content, folding and trafficking errors, and also compromised matrix incorporation. Recently, a homozygous deletion mutation in the TRIC-B (also referred to as TMEM38B) locus has been identified in Saudi Arabic and Bedouin Israeli OI pedigrees. The OI mutant gene encodes a truncated TRIC-B protein lacking its C-terminal half, and is likely associated with severe impairment of TRIC-B channel activity in various cell types. However, pathological mechanism is still unknown in the OI pedigrees.The TRIC (trimeric intracellular cation) channel subtypes, namely TRIC-A and TRIC-B, form homotrimeric complexes to function as intracellular monovalent cation-specific channels. TRIC-A channels are predominantly expressed in muscle and brain, while TRIC-B channels are ubiquitously detected throughout excitable and non-excitable cell types. Based on our observations in knockout mice, TRIC channels seem to mediate, in part, counterion movements to support efficient Ca2+ release from the sarco/endoplasmic reticulum. Tric-b-knockout mice develop respiratory failure at birth, and the mutant alveolar epithelial cells exhibit compromised IP3R-mediated Ca2+ release and insufficient handling of surfactant lipids. In skeleton preparations from Tric-b-knockout neonates, semi-translucent parts were frequently detected in major bones, indicating impaired bone formation. Indeed, insufficient bone mineralization was confirmed by computed tomography imaging and histochemical analysis. RT-PCR experiments detected decreased expression of osteocalcin and RanklmRNAs as osteoblast makers in Tric-b-knockout femoral bones, suggesting the possibility that Tric-b deficiency may affect osteoblast functions. Therefore, Tric-b-knockout neonates provide a useful model for OI bearing the mutant TRIC-B gene.

The Politization of History and the Negev Bedouin Land Claims: A Review Essay on <em>Indigenous (In)justice</em>

In recent years the study of the Negev Bedouin land claims has become a specialty of a small group of dedicated scholars. The aim of their research is to provide evidence that supports the notion that the Bedouin are an indigenous population whose rights were confirmed in the British and Mandatory period and therefore should be recognized by the State of Israel. The edited volume Indigenous (In)justice presents a case study of how research on this issue has selectively martialed historical sources to aid a contemporary political-geographical issue affecting a minority community.

Clinical and epidemiologic characteristics of non Hodgkin’s lymphoma in Bedouins in the south of Israel

The presentation of Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL) may vary in relation to ethnicity or environmental effects. The objective of our study was to characterize NHL among the Negev Bedouin population, compared to the Jewish population.Retrospective data were collected for 45 Bedouin and 45 Jewish patients who were treated at Soroka University Medical Center between 1990 and 2007.Upon diagnosis, rates of aggressive NHL types, involvement of extra-lymphatic organs, as well as mean LDH were higher among Bedouin. Treatment response was poorer among the Bedouin: overall survival and disease-free survival were higher among Jews (mean of 145 and 168 months, respectively, compared with 70 and 45 months, respectively, among Bedouin; p < 0.01 for both).In summary, disease aggressiveness and poor response to treatment among the Negev Bedouin may shed some light on the pathogenicity of NHL and may indicate a need for more aggressive treatment in different ethnic groups.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/2193-1801-2-672) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Frictions as opportunity: mobilizing for Arab-Bedouin ethnic rights in Israel

The question of how to advance justice for indigenous or marginalized ethnic groups leads to the heart of a polarized debate. We find a widely diffused ‘right to culture’ stance on one hand and a critical, constructivist one on the other. By taking up Tsing's metaphor of ‘zones of friction’, (2005) this article follows the way in which voices and imaginations about Bedouin culture and rights are produced in the conflict over a piece of land in the Negev desert, which is contested between the Israeli authorities and Bedouin representatives. As an imagined inhabitant of the area, ordinary citizens such as Mustafa are fashioned by activists and political tourists in highly culturalist or romanticized ways – images that are distant from the shifting self-representations of Mustafa himself. This case shows how the current emphasis on the ‘right to culture’ creates both new sites of contestation and new spaces for collective action.

Deciphering the fine-structure of tribal admixture in the Bedouin population using genomic data.

The Bedouin Israeli population is highly inbred and structured with a very high prevalence of recessive diseases. Many studies in the past two decades focused on linkage analysis in large, multiple consanguineous pedigrees of this population. The advent of high-throughput technologies motivated researchers to search for rare variants shared between smaller pedigrees, integrating data from clinically similar yet seemingly non-related sporadic cases. However, such analyses are challenging because, without pedigree data, there is no prior knowledge regarding possible relatedness between the sporadic cases. Here, we describe models and techniques for the study of relationships between pedigrees and use them for the inference of tribal co-ancestry, delineating the complex social interactions between different tribes in the Negev Bedouins of southern Israel. Through our analysis, we differentiate between tribes that share many yet small genomic segments because of co-ancestry versus tribes that share larger segments because of recent admixture. The emergent pattern is well correlated with the prevalence of rare mutations in the different tribes. Tribes that do not intermarry, mostly because of social restrictions, hold private mutations, whereas tribes that do intermarry demonstrate a genetic flow of mutations between them. Thus, social structure within an inbred community can be delineated through genomic data, with implications to genetic counseling and genetic mapping.

How Can Bourdieu’s Theory of Capital Benefit the Understanding of Advocacy NGOs? Theoretical Framework and Empirical Illustration

This article offers a Bourdieu-inspired organizational analysis of advocacy nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Pierre Bourdieu’s writings provide valuable propositions for understanding nonprofit advocacy resources that go beyond commonly analyzed economic, human, or social resources. The article describes the relational, accumulative, and transferable nature of Bourdieu’s forms of capital, and connects them to advocacy NGOs. By examining the forms of capital at the disposal of advocacy NGOs involved in the conflict between the State of Israel and the Negev Bedouin, the article empirically illustrates the applicability of Bourdieu’s ideas for the analysis of advocacy resources. The questions addressed are “How are NGOs using the various forms of capital to influence public perceptions and access decision-making forums?” and “What are the implications for nonprofit advocacy research?” Bourdieu’s theory could help nonprofit scholars better understand the prospect and limits of nonprofit advocacy within policy fields.

Genetic Substructure of Kuwaiti Population Reveals Migration History

The State of Kuwait is characterized by settlers from Saudi Arabia, Iran, and other regions of the Arabian Peninsula. The settlements and subsequent admixtures have shaped the genetics of Kuwait. High prevalence of recessive disorders and metabolic syndromes (that increase risk of diabetes) is seen in the peninsula. Understanding the genetic structure of its population will aid studies designed to decipher the underlying causes of these disorders. In this study, we analyzed 572,366 SNP markers from 273 Kuwaiti natives genotyped using the illumina HumanOmniExpress BeadChip. Model-based clustering identified three genetic subgroups with different levels of admixture. A high level of concordance (Mantel test, p=0.0001 for 9999 repeats) was observed between the derived genetic clusters and the surname-based ancestries. Use of Human Genome Diversity Project (HGDP) data to understand admixtures in each group reveals the following: the first group (Kuwait P) is largely of West Asian ancestry, representing Persians with European admixture; the second group (Kuwait S) is predominantly of city-dwelling Saudi Arabian tribe ancestry, and the third group (Kuwait B) includes most of the tent-dwelling Bedouin surnames and is characterized by the presence of 17% African ancestry. Identity by Descent and Homozygosity analyses find Kuwait’s population to be heterogeneous (placed between populations that have large amount of ROH and the ones with low ROH) with Kuwait S as highly endogamous, and Kuwait B as diverse. Population differentiation FST estimates place Kuwait P near Asian populations, Kuwait S near Negev Bedouin tribes, and Kuwait B near the Mozabite population. FST distances between the groups are in the range of 0.005 to 0.008; distances of this magnitude are known to cause false positives in disease association studies. Results of analysis for genetic features such as linkage disequilibrium decay patterns conform to Kuwait’s geographical location at the nexus of Africa, Europe, and Asia.

Counting Nomads: British Census Attempts and Tent Counts of the Negev Bedouin 1917 to 1948

ABSTRACTThe census of nomadic populations poses a challenge for governing authorities. In 1945, the British Mandatory government of Palestine developed a novel method to enumerate the nomadic Bedouin population of the Negev. By using aerial reconnaissance photography to augment conventional methods, they counted the tents of the tribesmen and marked them on a small scale map. This represented the culmination of years of British efforts to estimate the nomadic population of Palestine's largest administrative area, the Beersheba subdistrict of the Negev Desert, between 1917 and 1948. The aims of this paper were to chronicle, examine, and evaluate the British Mandatory estimates and censuses of the Bedouin population of the Negev undertaken in 1922, 1931, and 1946, and to compare them with their aerial survey of Bedouin tents in 1945. This study brings together a body of primary source material to examine a topic that has not been adequately addressed by researchers, and briefly touches on British strategic interests to invest in this activity. We assess the importance and accuracy of this mapping as well as its implications for the study of the Bedouin population of the Negev. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Children's Drawings and Social Change: Food Insecurity and Hunger among Israeli Bedouin Children

Food insecurity and hunger, which are on the rise in affluent Western countries, may negatively affect children’s physical, social, emotional and cognitive functioning. Although there is growing evidence of the high rate of food insecurity and hunger among Bedouin families and their children in Israel, little is known about how the children themselves experience the problem and how it impacts their life. The present study sought to explore and clarify children’s experience of food insecurity. The research population included forty-two Israeli Bedouin impoverished children, aged nine to eleven. The analysis of children’s drawing was chosen as the research instrument because it enabled psychological as well as phenomenological insight into the children’s experience of food insecurity. This study, however, goes beyond the use of art to assess children’s emotional state, because enabling the children to draw food insecurity gave them a strong and communicative public voice of their own. After the study had been completed, the drawings also proved useful in efforts to promote awareness about the personal, community, cultural and social dimensions of the problem and the need for community action and policy change to mitigate and eliminate it.

Spelling Accuracy of Consonants in Arabic among Negev Bedouin Students

This study explored spelling development of the written form of Arabic among native Bedouin Arabic (BA) speakers in second, fourth, and sixth grades (N = 347) from two recognized authorities in south Israel. Specifically, this study focused on guttural (), uvular-velar (/q/ and ), emphatic ( , , and ), and dental (/t/) consonants. Three tasks were constructed for this study: real word dictation, pseudo-word dictation, and real word recognition. The results for the real word task, pseudo-word task, and the word recognition task indicated significant improvement in spelling accuracy of the consonants targeted among fourth graders, however there was no additional improvement among the students in the sixth grade. It was also found that with emphatic phonemes accuracy is significantly lower than with all other phonemic groups at all elementary grades. In addition, gender differences were observed with significantly higher scores for girls in all grades targeted for all tasks. Pedagogical implications of these findings are discussed.

A Deletion Mutation in TMEM38B Associated with Autosomal Recessive Osteogenesis Imperfecta

Autosomal recessive osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) was diagnosed in three unrelated Israeli Bedouin consanguineous families. Fractures were evident in all cases in infancy. Genome-wide linkage analysis ruled out association with any of the known OI genes, and identified a single homozygosity locus of approximately 2 Mb on chromosome 9 common to all affected individuals (maximum multipoint lod score 6.5). Whole exome sequencing identified only a single mutation within this locus that was shared by all affected individuals: a homozygous deletion mutation of exon 4 of TMEM38B, leading to an early stop codon and a truncated protein, as well as low TMEM38B mRNA levels. TMEM38B encodes TRIC-B, a ubiquitous component of TRIC, a monovalent cation-specific channel involved in Ca(2+) release from intracellular stores that has been shown to act in cell differentiation. Molecular mechanisms through which a TMEM38B mutation might lead to an OI phenotype are yet to be explored.

Empire, State and the Bedouin of the Middle East, Past and Present: A Comparative Study of Land and Settlement Policies

The Bedouin of the Middle East have been one of the region's most marginalized groups in modern times. This study assesses the interplay between state policies and the Bedouin in the last 150 years, from a comparative standpoint. We examine the development of land laws in the Middle East as they have affected the Bedouin, from the enactment of the Ottoman land laws of 1858 up to the present. Moreover we explore whether the land laws and the fate of the Bedouin are associated with the characteristics of the regime in each country. We find that the imposition of land laws and policies directed at nomadic and sedentarizing Bedouins has depended on disparate factors such as the origins of the leadership of countries (i.e. Bedouin or non-Bedouin) and the social and economic models embraced. Regimes with origins in the tribal-Bedouin fabric of the Middle East have pursued land policies that were favorable to the Bedouin, whereas regimes drawing their strength from urban elites and with socialist outlooks encouraged very different policies. We also consider whether the case of the Bedouin in Israel is unique or reflects a larger regional context.

The World of the Dead as Viewed among the Negev Bedouin

The World of the Dead as Viewed among the Negev Bedouin

Evolution of the 'Modern' Transitory Shelter and Unrecognized Settlements of the Negev Bedouin

Abstract This study reviews the factors involved in the transition from the traditional Bedouin black tent to the tin shack. Many economic, social, and macro-political factors are involved in this transition. It is shown that in functional terms the tin shack is very similar to the traditional tent. However, compared with the traditional tent, the climatic performance of the tin shack is much worse, amplifying ambient temperature extremes, and increasing respiratory related complications. In spite of this poor performance, tin shacks have become the mainstream dwelling form of Bedouin settlements in the Negev during the last three decades.

High Levels of Soluble Serum Hemojuvelin in Patients with Congenital Dyserythropoietic Anemia Type I,

Abstract 3179Ineffective erythropoiesis in congenital dyserythropoietic anemia type I (CDA I) is characterized by increased iron absorption mediated by down-regulation of hepcidin. It has been suggested that growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) contributes to the inappropriate suppression of hepcidin. Hemojuvelin (HJV), an important regulator of hepcidin production, is highly expressed in skeletal muscle and the liver. Mutations in the gene encoding HJV lead to severe hepcidin deficiency and juvenile hemochromatosis. Membrane-bound HJV (m-HJV) acts as a co-receptor for bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs). HJV also exists in a soluble form (s-HJV) which competitively down-regulates hepcidin by interfering with BMP signaling. At least two proteases, furin and matriptase-2, cleave m-HJV into s-HJV. Recently, Brasse-Lagnel et al. (Heamtologica 95:2031–7, 2010) reported a new assay for measuring both the furin- and the matriptase-2-cleaved forms of s-HJV. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the possible role of s-HJV in the development of iron overload in CDA I. The study group included eight (8) Israeli Bedouins with CDA I who were homozygous for the founder mutation, c.3124C>T. All were young adults of mean age 27 years. One patient had undergone splenectomy and is currently transfusion-dependent; 3 female patients required occasional blood transfusion during intercurrent infection, pregnancy, and delivery. Nine healthy volunteers served as the comparative group. Laboratory data, including levels of serum hepcidin, ferritin, erythropoietin, soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR), and GDF 15, were previously collected in both groups (Tamary et al. Blood 112:5241–4, 2008). Serum levels of s-HJV were measured in stored frozen samples using a competitive ELISA assay based on an anti-HJV polyclonal antibody (Brasse-Lagnel et al. Heamtologica 95:2031–7, 2010). Compared to the healthy volunteers, the patient group was characterized by significantly higher levels of s-HJV (1.99±0.98mg/L vs 0.36±0.25mg/L; p=0.001), significantly lower level of hemoglobin, and significantly higher levels of serum ferritin, erythropoietin, GDF 15, and sTfR. Serum hepcidin levels were similar in the CDA I patients and the healthy volunteers, but the hepcidin-to-ferritin ratio was significantly lower in the patient group, suggesting that serum hepcidin concentrations were inappropriately low. Levels of s-HJV negatively correlated with hemoglobin levels (R= −0.69 p=0.002) and positively correlated with the iron loading parameter, serum ferritin (R=0.73 p=0.000), and parameters of erythropoiesis, such as serum erythropoietin (R=0.63 p= 0.006) and sTfR (R=0.66 p= 0.008). Additionally, GDF 15 level was positively correlated with s-HJV level (R= 0.64 p=0.006), whereas the hepcidin-to-ferritin ratio (R=−0.797 p=0.000) was negatively correlated with s-HJV level. In summary, our study suggests that s-HJV is overexpressed in patients with CDA I and probably contributes to the down-regulation of hepcidin and the iron-loading pathology. To our knowledge, this is the first study to analyze s-HJV levels in a disease characterized by ineffective erythropoiesis. The main limitation of our study is the small number of patients. Larger studies including patients with CDA and thalassemia are indicated. The source of serum s-HJV and the trigger for its overexpression in CDA I still need to be established. Disclosures:No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Settling for less: the planned resettlement of Israel's Negev Bedouin – By Steven C. Dinero

Settling for less: the planned resettlement of Israel's Negev Bedouin – By Steven C. Dinero

High Myopia Caused by a Mutation in LEPREL1, Encoding Prolyl 3-Hydroxylase 2

Autosomal-recessive high-grade axial myopia was diagnosed in Bedouin Israeli consanguineous kindred. Some affected individuals also had variable expressivity of early-onset cataracts, peripheral vitreo-retinal degeneration, and secondary sight loss due to severe retinal detachments. Through genome-wide linkage analysis, the disease-associated gene was mapped to ∼1.7 Mb on chromosome 3q28 (the maximum LOD score was 11.5 at θ = 0 for marker D3S1314). Sequencing of the entire coding regions and intron-exon boundaries of the six genes within the defined locus identified a single mutation (c.1523G>T) in exon 10 of LEPREL1, encoding prolyl 3-hydroxylase 2 (P3H2), a 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase that hydroxylates collagens. The mutation affects a glycine that is conserved within P3H isozymes. Analysis of wild-type and p.Gly508Val (c.1523G>T) mutant recombinant P3H2 polypeptides expressed in insect cells showed that the mutation led to complete inactivation of P3H2.

PL02 Female Genital Mutilation: Successful Social Change Exemplified by Israeli Bedouin and Ethiopian Jews

PL02 Female Genital Mutilation: Successful Social Change Exemplified by Israeli Bedouin and Ethiopian Jews