Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05TELAVIV4264
2005-07-08 13:55:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Tel Aviv
Cable title:  

ISRAELI PROFESSOR HOPES GOI DEVELOPMENT PLANS WILL

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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 004264 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/08/2015
TAGS: ECON PGOV PREL IS ISRAELI SOCIETY ECONOMY AND FINANCE
SUBJECT: ISRAELI PROFESSOR HOPES GOI DEVELOPMENT PLANS WILL
HELP BEDOUIN

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Gene A. Cretz for reasons 1.4 (b
) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 004264

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/08/2015
TAGS: ECON PGOV PREL IS ISRAELI SOCIETY ECONOMY AND FINANCE
SUBJECT: ISRAELI PROFESSOR HOPES GOI DEVELOPMENT PLANS WILL
HELP BEDOUIN

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Gene A. Cretz for reasons 1.4 (b
) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: A Ben Gurion University professor working
closely with the Bedouin community in the Negev discussed the
GOI development initiative for the Negev, still a concern for
the Bedouin. The professor said he is putting together a
plan which will bring the GOI and the Bedouin leadership
together to collectively address the GOI economic initiative
for the Negev. This will ensure that Bedouin concerns are
addressed as the GOI moves ahead to develop the Negev, the
BGU professor said. He also talked about his recent visit to
the U.S. which allowed him to raise money for Bedouin youth
development. Several philanthropists donated USD 50,000 to
bring together youth from several Bedouin villages for summer
activities to create the venues for Bedouin youth to learn
about coexistence, community activism and leadership. END
SUMMARY.

-------------- -
Preparing for Further Development of the Negev
-------------- -


2. (C) Econoff met with Dr. Thabet Abu Ras, a professor at
the Ben Gurion University in the Negev July 1. Abu Ras told
Econoff that the GOI plan to develop the Negev remains a
concern for the Bedouin. He said he hopes that the GOI does
not ignore this minority group as it plans for Negev
development. Abu Ras is planning to survey the Bedouin
community regarding the GOI's Negev economic initiative.
This survey will provide the Bedouin leadership with a tool
for assessing community needs, he said, and will be used to
formulate an agenda for discussion with GOI officials.
Israeli officials charged with handling Negev projects can
then work with the Bedouin leadership to ensure that the
Bedouin are not left behind, said Abu Ras.


3. (C) Abu Ras said his survey package will focus on
assessing the major needs of the Bedouin community, such as
identifying alternative settlement areas with more space --
very important to the Bedouin. He said basic services and
infrastructure needs, such as sewage, water, electricity and
also roads will be covered in the survey. Abu Ras said

Bedouin recognized and unrecognized villages alike have
inadequate services and infrastructure and "these are the
current problems" facing the Bedouin. Existing recognized
villages are like "dormitories," he said, offer very little
to the Bedouin, and clash with their traditional lifestyle.


4. (C) After he submits the survey results to the Bedouin
leadership, Abu Ras said, he will put together a plan with
them to address socio-political issues of concern to the
Bedouin by bringing to light questions of land settlement,
land ownership, education, employment, civil rights, and
citizenship. Abu Ras told Econoff that the Bedouin want the
GOI to respect them and "treat them as equals." Demolition
of homes, uprooting of crops and empty promises, he said,
only escalate the already tense relationship between the GOI
and the Bedouin.


5. (C) The GOI views the issue of demography as a major
problem because of the ever increasing population of the
Bedouin, asserted Abu Ras. There are those in the Bedouin
community, he said, who actively engage in marrying more then
one partner and having many children, to "spite" the GOI in
its efforts to address Bedouin population growth. This
"spite" he says motivates the Bedouin to actively increase
their numbers, noting that to the Bedouin the GOI only seems
concerned with the needs of the Negev's Jewish residents and
not the Bedouin residents.


6. (C) In a related development, several hundred Bedouin from
the Negev demonstrated July 7 to reportedly protest the GOI's
distribution of 160 demolition orders of houses in the
unrecognized village of Be'er Al-mashash in the Negev.

-------------- --------------
U.S. Jewish Communities Fund Summer Camp for Bedouin Youth
-------------- --------------


7. (C) Abu Ras shifted the discussion to his recent trip to
the United States, during which he raised 50,000 USD for the
Bedouin community in the Negev. He said these funds, which
were donated by Jewish communities in the U.S., will help pay
for a summer camp for 1,500 Bedouin youth from seven
different schools in the Beer Sheva region. The camp will
provide Bedouin youth the opportunity to attend recreational
classes and participate in outdoor activities. The camp will
also help Bedouin youth channel their energy, the professor
commented.


8. (C) Abu Ras said the camp will focus on team building
exercises and other classroom activities which will help
increase their community awareness. He said trips to Tel
Aviv and other parts of the country will be in the
curriculum, providing Bedouin youth lessons in coexistence.
The Israeli NGO Shatil was instrumental in helping to raise
the U.S. funding, said Abu Ras. He said his counterparts in
the U.S. have promised more assistance in the future.

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