On the eve of the upcoming Passover and Ramadan, we would like to wish a happy and healthy Passover to the celebrants and hope that the holiday will bring insights and thoughts to an shared society, hoping for a change of policy towards the Bedouin population of the Negev/Naqab.

Towards the eve of Passover and with the start of Ramadan in about two weeks, and a fourth round of elections, the reality in the Negev seems more complex than ever. Amid a global epidemic, and without an elected government, the human rights situation of the Bedouin Arab residents in the Negev has become even more vulnerable. Ironically and unfairly, the number of house demolitions in the Negev in 2020 reached the highest number historically. This is despite the Attorney General’s order to reduce the demolition orders and the presence of the police in the Negev, in response to an urgent sent by NCF and other civil society organizations in a request to stop the demolitions during the pandemic.

The economic crisis has created severe difficulties still unresolved at a national level, that affected the Bedouin society deeply. This, mainly due to the denial of infrastructure and basic services on behalf of the State. Unemployment has raised significantly, and the state of the education is much more severe for the children of unrecognized villages compared to the rest of the country due to the lack of internet and electrical systems, that in addition to shortage in computers have make remote learning quite impossible. Although the academic year for nearly 142,000 children is lost, the State chooses to focus on repression and violence instead of responsibly investing on education and resources.

Together with this, we choose to continue to support the fair struggle of our Arab Bedouin partners and friends for real freedom and a dignified life for them and their children.

With wishes of health, Haia Noach, Executive Director