Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality
פורום דו-קיום בנגב לשוויון אזרחי
منتدى التعايش السلمي في النقب من أجل المساواة المدنية

NCF Annual Racism Report

18.05.2012

For the third consecutive year, NCF has published a report dealing with structural discrimination against Arabs living in the Negev on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

In light of government claims that moving the Bedouin population to permanent towns will benefit them and enable them to enjoy a higher level of services, this year’s report, titled “Availability and Accessibility of Government, Commercial, Public and Health Services in Arab Villages and Structural Discrimination Against Arab Employees in Government Offices in the Negev,” focused upon services that are being offered in Bedouin towns.

More specifically, the report compared Bedouin towns to nearby Jewish communities in the Negev, and examined the banking services, telephone infrastructure, and unemployment, public housing and Ministry of Interior branches available in Bedouin towns, among other things.

“The reality that exists in the recognized towns, as presented in the State Comptroller’s report, proves that the policy of urbanization was not implemented for purposes of development, providing better services, or modernization, but rather by a desire to increase control over the Bedouin population and to ensure that reserves of land in the Negev would remain free for the purpose of future Jewish settlement,” the report states.

To read the full report, click here.