Video The rights of the Negev desert's Bedouin community seem to count for little, despite the fact that they are Israeli citizens
By Seth Freedman
The Guardian
" The last time I wrote about the Negev desert's Bedouin community, I was seriously guilty of not seeing the wood for the trees. While I still think that the way in which the Bedouin "see the light but prefer to wallow in the darkness" is counterproductive to say the least, the fact is they are done a massive disservice by the heavy-handed treatment meted out to them by the state - which is what I should have focused on.
As Human Rights Watch say in their latest report on the situation, the Bedouin are victims of widespread government discrimination. The state refuses to recognise their claims to the land (sounds familiar, I know, but what's worse is the Bedouin are fully-fledged Israeli citizens, yet still don't count for much in the eyes of the authorities), their houses are demolished on a regular basis, and their most basic human rights trampled upon. That those in power refuse to do anything to rectify the Bedouin's plight is yet another stain on an already pretty filthy track record. "
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