Now whe're getting somewhere. Thank you.
As I said before, for years the Beduoins didn't consider themselves part of the Israeli or Palestinian regular society. They sat besically in the Negev area. If you have never been there, and I am taking to mind that you haven't, then you should know that it is a huge area, which was mostly desert.
It came to mind that the Bediouns way of living are in the Negev is without any authorization of the government, and it soon became known as the "beduoin problem". They had no real houses, no water or electricity, besically living in tents without anyone knowing their doings. So they came up with the idea to creat the first Beduoin city, which will be the largest and so far the only recognized city for the beduoin community. They didn't want nomad clans who nobody knows who they are to simply put a tent anywhere they feel like, so they built a city for them. That was Rahat. Rahat will have a city hall, schools, mosques, kindergardens, clinics, police, parks, shopping centers, anything that people who by lifestyle are NOT nomads, need.
The biggest clan in the Area is the clan of Al Qranawi. This clan is the one who handles the city, many of the men live in different parts of the city. The most well known of the Al Qranawi, is the family of Hassan. this man has 4 wives, and each has about 3-5 children. Hassan is a dentist, who works at many times which the Jewish community. His first born, a girl names Saraa, was my classmate in high school.
The family of Hassan is extemely rich. They have an entire street to themselves. in one corner, there is the "house of men". Next to it, "the house of women" where there can be found the kitchens, the gardens,and few bedrooms. in the backyard they keep their sheep and goats. right infront of the women's house, there is a huge palace like building, that's the childrens house, which is styled with much taste. Each child has his or her own hallways and floor. they have their own terrotory to play and run and sleep in. Hardly anything big happens in the city that the father doesn't know about it. The Cousin of Hassan, I cannot recall his name, has only one wife, and she gave birth to Muhammad al Qranawi, who, shocking, was also in my class. his father was a school manager, they had a big house which many of Qur'an quotes on the walls.
Anyway, as I was saying, Rahat became the main Beduoin city of the Negev. later on villages like Lakiyeh and Kseiffe came along. The Idea behind all of this was to creat a "safe surrounding" to the Beduon community to live in. The idea of the wondering beduoin nomad did not suit the modern world. If anything happens, nobody can really do anything, since the beduoing doesn't belong to any place.
Even though Rahat was a huge city which offered much to the Bediouns, many of them insisted on taking over Negev lands, by putting tents and bringing their sheep there. the Israeli government was bothered by the Idea. Later on, since the most "important" community of Israeli Jews who lived in Tel Aviv didn't want anymore bad smell from the garbage sites in central Israel, they braught up the idea to put one site near the area of rahat, it was called the "Lahav hill"; then it became known that there is a beduoin problem in the Negev, and thought up the idea to built right next to Rahat, a small Jewish village. Then Lehavim was built. the first family who moved to Lehavim and started building their house, did it from the first stone. There was absolutely NOTHING there, besides hills of desert and the view of Rahat in the distance. This family was the Vakrat family. A religious family. Father,mother, 3 daughters.
The second family who moved there, began to build their house few kilometers from there, 3 streets next to the first family. Secular family. Father, mother, 2 year old daughter.
That family was mine
Lehavim now has thousands of Jewish residents. Few hundreds of Beduoin residents. But the idea back THEN, was by building the Jewish village, to being the beduoin still nomad society to see that the life of stability was much better. if they wish to live someplace, let it be in Rahat, or Lakiyeh, but the idea of simply put some tents on the land and announce it a "village" is not acceptable by the rest of men. Lehavim suggested new work places, so those who at the beginning lacked money could affor it, and the Rahat city hall very much tried to bring the nomad leftover beduoins to the city.
Then the issue of nomads began becoming a real problem. The nomads will enter lehavim, steal property of Jews and threaten the quite lives in our town. the Meyor of Rahat and the council of Lehavim were very bothered by it. The community of Rahat claimed that the nomads bring the entire beduoin community a bad name, because they claimed that their friendship with the Jews of the area, who often come to tour and buy food in the Beduoin city, is being shakened. Jews were afraid to come to Rahat for years, because people mistakened it to be a terrorist city, because the beduoin bacames "theives" and "scary criminals". The children of Lehavim still have issues entering the Beduoin village, since they hear stories from a very small age about how evil the beduoins are.
it was hard to separate the nomads from the city people, since they all were beduoins and belonged to the same clan. The Al Qranawi people were naturally frustrated, the problem of the nomads didn't get better, but worse, they began sitting near Rahat but refused to see themselves as part of the city, and terrorized their own brothers there, we heard stories of it. from the Jeiwsh Kibbuts of Beit Kama, to the Lehavim junction, you could see the nomads taking over lands without permission, at some cases throwing stones and terrorize vihicles, and the police didn't dare to say or do anything. They will put down a tent, next to a bumch of tents that are already there, then demand to be recognizes as a village once there are about a dozen. the Israeli government will not recognize that. the Jewish villages in the Area will be threatened by it. the Rahat community will be frustrated because the phnomenone is not dealt with in the way it should.
Al araqib was a classic example for it. this village is not recognized just like the nomads rediculous claiming are not recognized. Have you seen Al Araqib,? is hadly something that the government will authorize like it did with Rahat and Lakiyeh. Israel doesn't recognize the Jewish settlements in the Judea hills, because one cannot just put a cabin or a tent, bring his friend over, and then say "recognize my city". It simply does not WORK that way. That is the same reason that Al Araqib is not recognized. If they wish to have normal lives, they need to bring the needed documents, city plans, and all that is needed, they didn't do it so far; If that doesn't work, they have at least 4 Arab beduoin villages to sit in. I truely don't see the problem
many of them didn't consider themselves part of the Israeli OR Arab Palestinian society untill the last few years.
