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

Update from Negev Coexistence Forum

21.07.2012

• Ramadan blessings from NCF
• NCF submits report to UN Human Rights Council
• 17th NCF newsletter
• NCF inquires about Abu Basma Council elections
• Al Arakib destroyed, marks two years of destruction

Ramadan blessings from NCF

NCF would like to bless all our friends, partners and everyone in the Negev as the Islamic holy month of Ramadan begins today. May you have an easy fast and Ramadan Kareem!

NCF submits report to UN Human Rights Council

This week, NCF submited a report to the United Nations Human Rights Council on the occasion of the 15th session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group. The report focuses on Israel’s human rights record regarding the Arab-Bedouin population in the Negev-Naqab and how Israel has failed to carry out its commitment to the Human Rights Council to ensure the “full protection of the rights of minorities.”

NCF drew attention to the stark disparities in the level of services offered in Bedouin and Jewish municipalities in the Negev, low Bedouin participation in government offices, the state’s home demolition policy, and the government’s recently passed Prawer Plan to prove how Israel fails to ensure the “best protection of human rights” for Bedouin citizens.

“Forced urbanization of the Negev Bedouin population – and the displacement, destruction and human rights abuses that come with this urbanization policy – is not a viable solution but an element of a policy of dispossession that threatens both the Arab-Bedouin rights to land and resources and their way of life as an indigenous minority in Israel,” the report concluded.

To read the full report, click here.

17th NCF newsletter

NCF is happy to announce that our 17th newsletter is now available!

This edition of the newsletter includes an article about NCF photography workshops, a brief on the latest news from the Negev, a list of home demolitions that took place over recent months, updates about NCF’s international lobbying and advocacy efforts, events that took place at the Multaka-Mifgash cultural center, and the ‘Please Recognize’ section, which this time focuses on the village of A-Sir.

To read the full newsletter, click here.

NCF inquires about Abu Basma Council elections

The NCF secretariat sent a letter to Prof. Assaf Razin, head of the investigation Committee for the Examination of the Appropriate Organization of the Municipal and Local Planning Areas of the Bedouin Sector for the Be’er-Sheva District, on the issue of the postponement of local elections in the Abu-Basma regional council.

In the letter, the secretariat members explain why council elections should take place as quickly as possible. The Abu Basma Regional Council was established on 2003 and until today, no elections have been held.

To read the letter (Hebrew), click here.

Al Arakib destroyed, marks two years of destruction

On July 17, the Bedouin village of Al Arakib was destroyed for the 37th time. Last weekend, village residents marked two years since the Israeli authorities first demolished the village on July 27, 2010. Residents have vowed to stay on their ancestral land despite this intense pressure from the Israeli authorities.

Sheikh Sayah Al-Turi and the residents of Al-Arakib invites the village’s friends and comrades to an event marking two years since the village was first demolished. The event will take place on Friday, July 27, at 6:45 pm.

We will gather at the entrance to Al Arakib and march from the road to the village. Following the march, we will join the residents in a special Iftar dinner.

Please register in advance.

Transportation from Be’er-Sheva: Michal Rotem, Michal@dukium.org 054-5851700

Transportation from Tel-Aviv: Ya’acov Manor, 050-5733276, 09-7670801, manor12@zahav.net.il