ACRI Calls on Government to Halt “Prawer Plan” on Bedouin Issues

An unrecognized village. Photo by Melanie Takefman

The Prawer Plan, commissioned to implement the 2008 Goldberg Committee’s findings that the State of Israel must recognize the 35 unrecognized Bedouin villages in the Negev region in the south of Israel, is to be submitted to the Prime Minister Netanyahu on Sunday (4 September 2011). Despite its acknowledgment of the importance of correcting the injustices done to Bedouins citizens of Israel, the Report actually calls for the uprooting of 20-30,000 people from their homes and was composed without involvement of any representatives of the Bedouin communities.
 
An alternative master plan, prepared by the Regional Council of Unrecognized Bedouin Villages and Bimkom-Planners for Planning Rights, proposes to keep all 35 unrecognized villages intact and incorporate them once and for all into the region in terms of infrastructure and services, while saving Israel massive amounts of resources necessary for uprooting villages that have existed since before the state was established.
 
ACRI, together with other human rights organizations and representatives of the Bedouin communities in the Negev urge the government to dismiss the Prawer Report, whose recommendations propagate the state’s irresponsible treatment of one of the most disenfranchised communities in Israel and allow for the continued trampling of their basic rights as citizens. An agreed-upon and practical solution for the Bedouin communities will guarantee the betterment of the Negev that all residents can benefit from.
 
To download a position paper written by ACRI, Bimkom, and the Regional Council of Unrecognized Bedouin Villages – click here.
 
To download a summary of this position paper, click here.