Bedouin (126 images)

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  • No longer able to graze freely, most Bedouin livestock in the Negev is penned in, severly impacting the ability of Bedouin families to herd sheep. Though some open grazing permits are still available, most families have sold their herds, others have reduced their numbers of sheep to a mere handful, so they can be kept within their villages. And black goats, the hair of which is used to weave Bedouin tents, have been banned by the Israeli government, ostensibly because they are more destructive to the desert ecology than sheep are - though some Bedouin believe the government wanted to cut their supply of black wool, so they could no longer make their traditional tents.

  • A young camel in the Bedouin village of Abu Queirnat, in Israel's Negev Desert, comes in for a close look.

  • A young camel in the Bedouin village of Abu Queirnat, in Israel's Negev Desert, comes in for a close look.

  • Khalil Elamor, from the unrecognized Bedouin village of El Serah in Israel's Negev Desert, points to the demolition notice on the door of his home. The entire village is slated to be destroyed.

  • A generator supplies electricity to homes in the unrecognized Bedouin village of El Serah.

  • The kids of Mehar Elamor, outside their partially finished home in El Serah, an unrecognized Bedouin village in Israel's Negev desert. The home and the village are slated for demolition.

  • No longer able to graze freely, most Bedouin livestock in the Negev is penned in, severly impacting the ability of Bedouin families to herd sheep. Though some open grazing permits are still available, most families have sold their herds, others have reduced their numbers of sheep to a mere handful, so they can be kept within their villages. And black goats, the hair of which is used to weave Bedouin tents, have been banned by the Israeli government, ostensibly because they are more destructive to the desert ecology than sheep are - though some Bedouin believe the government wanted to cut their supply of black wool, so they could no longer make their traditional tents.

  • El Serah, an unrecognized village in Israel's Negev desert, receives no public services, from electric to water to trash pick-up. Electricity comes from solar panels and a shared generator; water is piped overground from 3 km outside the village; internet is relayed wirelessly from another village.

  • Some unrecognized Bedouin villages in the Negev are within Israeli military testing grounds. The villages were here first - but they dont appear on any maps, so officially don't exist and didn't need to be considered when the testing grounds were created. Residents of these villages have been killed accidentally by explosives.

  • Some unrecognized Bedouin villages in the Negev are within Israeli military testing grounds. The villages were here first - but they dont appear on any maps, so officially don't exist and didn't need to be considered when the testing grounds were created. Residents of these villages have been killed accidentally by explosives.

  • Kids in Abu Tlul, an unrecognized Bedouin village in Israel's Negev Desert, play on the ruins of a house demolished by the Israeli government. Many children - and adults - have been traumatized by the demoltions of their homes and villages.

  • Taleb el-Sana, a Bedouin member of the Israeli Knesset (parliament), is from Lakiya village in the Negev. He warns of a potential "Bedouin Intifada" if the Prawer Plan is implemented, which would result in the displacement of some 40,000 people from their homes. "We are not against the state," he says, "we're against the policy of the state." Alsana describes the Prawer Plan as "ethnic clearance" and "a new Nakhba in the Negev." He insists that recognizing Bedouin villages is in Israel's long-term best interest; that "what's good for the Bedouin is also good for the Jews;" and that the issues should be solved by negotiation between the government and the Bedouin communities.

  • Huda Elsana, from the recognized Bedouin village of Lakiya, majors in Middle Eastern Studies at Ben Gurion University in Beersheva and is fluent in Arabic, Hebrew and English.

  • Abu Salman, of the Bedouin village of Abu Queirnat, has been leading the efffort to have his village officially recognized by the Israeli government.

  • A young camel in the Bedouin village of Abu Queirnat, in Israel's Negev Desert.

  • Isamel Ar-Raqib now lives within the grounds of the cemetary of Ar-Raqib, which is all that is left of the village. The entire town was demolished by the Israeli government on July 27, 2010 - 67 houses destroyed, 563 people left homeless, some 4500 olive trees uprooted. After that, bulldozers returned every week to demolish any attempts at rebuilding.

  • The only tree left alive outside of the cemetary grounds, where the village of Ar-Raqib once stood. The entire town was demolished by the Israeli government on July 27, 2010 - 67 houses destroyed, 563 people left homeless, some 4500 olive trees uprooted. After that, bulldozers returned every week to demolish any attempts at rebuilding.

  • Ismael Ar-Raqib walks through the ruins of a home in his former village. The entire town of Ar-Raqib was demolished by the Israeli government on July 27, 2010 - 67 houses destroyed, 563 people left homeless, some 4500 olive trees uprooted. After that, bulldozers returned every week to demolish any attempts at rebuilding.

  • Ismael Ar-Raqib walks through the ruins of a home in his former village. The entire town of Ar-Raqib was demolished by the Israeli government on July 27, 2010 - 67 houses destroyed, 563 people left homeless, some 4500 olive trees uprooted. After that, bulldozers returned every week to demolish any attempts at rebuilding.

  • A pile of rubble where a home once stood in the village of Ar-Raqib, in Israel's Negev Desert. The entire town was demolished by the Israeli government on July 27, 2010 - 67 houses destroyed, 563 people left homeless, some 4500 olive trees uprooted. After that, bulldozers returned every week to demolish any attempts at rebuilding.

  • Bulldozers, where the village of Ar-Raqib once stood. The entire town was demolished by the Israeli government on July 27, 2010 - 67 houses destroyed, 563 people left homeless, some 4500 olive trees uprooted. After that, bulldozers returned every week to demolish any attempts at rebuilding.

  • Remnants from inside the homes that once stood in the village of Ar-Raqib, in Israel's Negev Desert. The entire town was demolished by the Israeli government on July 27, 2010 - 67 houses destroyed, 563 people left homeless, some 4500 olive trees uprooted. After that, bulldozers returned every week to demolish any attempts at rebuilding.

  • Young people who once lived in the village of Ar-Raqib demonstrating for their rights to the land and their rights to rebuild. The entire town was demolished by the Israeli government on July 27, 2010 - 67 houses destroyed, 563 people left homeless, some 4500 olive trees uprooted. After that, bulldozers returned every week to demolish any attempts at rebuilding.

  • Women who once lived in the village of Ar-Raqib demonstrating for their rights to the land and their rights to rebuild. The entire town was demolished by the Israeli government on July 27, 2010 - 67 houses destroyed, 563 people left homeless, some 4500 olive trees uprooted. After that, bulldozers returned every week to demolish any attempts at rebuilding.

  • Saya Ar-Raqib, sheikh of the Bedouin village of Ar-Raqib, struggles for the rights of his community to return to and rebuild on their land. The entire village was demolished by the Israeli government on July 27, 2010 - 67 houses destroyed, 563 people left homeless, some 4500 olive trees uprooted. After that, bulldozers returned every week to demolish any attempts at rebuilding.

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