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1 researchok  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 1:14:52am

I'm quite sure if the Bedouin were indeed dead set against the project they would not be entertaining the idea of accepting rent payment for the project.

Perhaps someday we can hope for a declaration 'demanding Israeli civilians and communities be protected from acts of violence'.

2 Bob Levin  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 1:26:08am

Right, cause right now there's no hope.

3 iossarian  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 7:37:31am

First of all, despite the title, this has nothing to do with Europe's economic problems. God forbid that countries (including the US, of course) should comment on international affairs while suffering from economic disturbances at home.

As to the main point of the article, it seems that the Bedouin population suffers from very similar circumstances as the Roma population in Europe, to which the solution of "assimilation" is a tricky one to suggest.

The second article, which is meant to be favorable to the plan, concludes with:

There is no doubt that those living in the Bedouin villages are in need of a source of income, and having one that would benefit the planet does indeed seem ideal. However, it would be equally wrong to ignore the complex history, social difficulties and widespread implications that impact this project.

It also acknowledges that:

Without it, the Bedouin are classed as squatters and their domiciles are considered illegal, but official recognition only allows the Bedouin to lease rather than own the land they live on according to the report. There are also fears that recognition provides a pathway for legal evictions and further resettlement.

Given all this, it seems that, at the minimum, any plan for the area should be subject to broad approval by the current population.

4 Bob Levin  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 10:04:21am

re: #3 iossarian

First of all, despite the title, this has nothing to do with Europe's economic problems.

I was making a tongue-in-cheek statement that, historically, every time Europe has found itself immersed in a problem that stretches their understanding of that problem, the Europeans have instituted some law, or decided that this would be the perfect time to persecute the Jews. In this case, Europe is reaching beyond its borders to accomplish this variation on a very old historical theme--a theme much older than even the existence of the US.

Actually, the second article is not meant to be favorable to the plan. It is meant to give a more accurate picture of the Bedouins as they live in Israel. Even more accurate would be to spend the evening having dinner with them--as I did.

In the second article, I placed what I thought to be the crucial parts in italics, that there are aspects of the Bedouin existence unrelated to culture, which promote the spread of disease. The plan could remedy the problems that could spread to other parts of the region.

Because the article focused on the renting of Bedouin land, there are legal complications not addressed in the article. However, the idea of renting their land, using it as a solar farm, giving the Bedouins income and the ability to modernize their infrastructure, just a bit, is astoundingly gentle and bears no relationship to the industrialized homogenization of culture that has come with the openings of factories--not to mention Europe's own history of imperialism and subjugation.

Given all this, it seems that, at the minimum, any plan for the area should be subject to broad approval by the current population.

Israel has indeed been sensitive to this issue, as the article stated:

According to Ha’aretz, Arava met with a group of Bedouin residents and community leaders at their photovoltaic plant at Kibbutz Ketura. Arava representative Hannah Schafer told pv magazine, “Our team at Arava Power has worked since 2009 to develop strong relationships with the Bedouin community. It is the trust and goodwill that we have developed with them, along with our expert regulatory and engineering teams, that will ensure that these projects succeed.”


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