Negev Bedouin - Present Day

Present Day

A shift from transhumance to permanent settlement is indeed full of hardships since it is followed by the change of lifestyle, culture and mentality. For the Bedouin sedentarization is even more painful since tradition plays a very important role in their community. A change in lifestyle is accompanied by many different problems: a rise of poverty, crime, unemployment. But there is also a positive effect - Bedouins receive an access to the modern healthcare, education, besides, women's status is starting to improve.

According to a State Comptroller report from 2002, the Bedouin townships were built with minimal investment, and infrastructure in the seven townships had not improved much in the span of three decades. In 2002, most homes were not connected to the sewage system, the water supply was erratic and the roads were not adequate. These lessons were learned and new policies are starting to be implemented in the last decade, the Israeli government has allocated special funds to improve the wellbeing of the Bedouin of the Negev. In 2003-2004 a number of unrecognized Bedouin villages was recognized by the state, and their infrastructure is being upgraded.

According to the Israel Land Administration (as of 2007), Israel is currently building some 13 new villages and towns for the Negev Bedouin with brand new infrastructure. The seven planned Bedouin townships are being expanded, the largest among them is South Rahat - in accordance with the plan, the city of Rahat will double its size, half a billion shekels invested only in this project. This project is carrying on. Several new industrial zones meant to improve the employment situation in the Bedouin sector, Idan haNegev the largest among them, are being erected. In 2008, a railway station opened near the largest Bedouin town in the Negev, Rahat (Lehavim-Rahat Railway Station), a noticeable improvement to the transportation situation. From 2009 there are Galim buses operating inside Rahat.