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

Thank you for supporting Arab Bedouin women!

29.07.2019

Thanks to your support, more than 100,000 people who visited the Photoville Festival in Brooklyn NY were exposed to the photographic art of 4 women from Umm al-Hiran. Their story will be heard, will be told and will not be forgotten. Thanks to your show of solidarity, visitors at NCF’s exhibition received the chance to hear their personal stories and connect with the Arab Bedouin struggle for civil rights and historical justice.

Unfortunately, NCF’s representatives were not present to vote on elections day, but they found another way to make a difference. As part of the trip, we traveled to Washington DC, where our representatives participated in a special panel, “Israeli Elections and Minority Communities: What the Bedouin Experience Portends for the Future of Israeli Democracy”. We talked about the link between poverty and voter turnout, women’s compilation and the attempt to prevent Bedouin people from voting in the polls. We also discussed demolition of structures that reached a historic peak in 2018 of 2,326, and of the unrecognized villages whose residents have no access to basic services, despite being citizens of the State.

While visiting Washington, we also met with Congresswoman Rashida T’lib’s members of staff to discuss mechanisms of dispossession used by the State of Israel against its Bedouin citizens, as well as issues related to Bedouin women.

This delegation to NY and DC was highly successful thanks to the hard work of numerous people: First and foremost, the 4 courageous women from Umm al-Hiran, who documented their life in the village for more than 4 years; NCF’s project coordinators: Sabreen Abu Kaf, Hanan Abu Kaf, Hala Abo Freh, and Nura Sagaira; Our exhibition curators: Keisha Bari and Adi Lavie; Open Society Foundations that funded the trip; Foundation for Middle East Peace and the New Israel Fund that hosted us in Washington; Mossawa Center and Friends of Mossawa; And the Photoville Festival’s wonderful staff and volunteers.

A special thank you to Sidreh Organization for the support and help throughout the entire process. Without you, all of this could not have happened.