Get the facts: The bizarre claim that the Bedouin “invaded” the Negev
May 20, 2014
Yariv Mohar, RHR spokesperson, uses primary source quotations and findings to respond to claims that the Bedouin somehow “invaded” the Negev and therefore have no right to the land.
By: Yariv Mohar
The real question is: invaded whose land? To be totally clear, all residents of the Negev, Jews and Bedouin, should have equal rights. But when those who deny the rights of the Bedouin claim that the Bedouin are “squatters” in the Negev, we must remember that for hundreds of years, there were only Bedouin and some fellaheen (Arab peasants) in the Negev. In this period – with Zionism and modern Aliyah of Jews to the land of Israel just beginning – there were absolutely no Ottoman or Jewish communities in the Negev.
Only in 1912 was the first Jewish community of the modern era established in the Negev. This small community was called Ruhama, and it was located just north of where Netivot is located today (not exactly the heart of the Negev). Aside from Ruhama (which was abandoned in 1917), there was not a single Jewish community in the Negev until 1943, when three “lookouts” (the kibbutzim Revivim, Gvulot, and Beit Eshel) were founded. For the most part, the Bedouin of the Negev lived cut off from the Jews and the Ottomans; they did not invade any Jewish or Ottoman territory or land. It was the Ottomans who invaded the Bedouin areas, and in any case only barely controlled the Negev. (In parts of the Negev, such as the area of the Azazma tribe, the Ottomans had no control at all). It is important to recall the Ottomans because of the claim that Israel inherited the state lands of the Ottoman Empire in the Negev.
When the Zionists met the Bedouin: Early Zionists in the Negev documented positively their meetings with Bedouin
ZalmanDavidLevontinZalman David Levontin, end of the 19th century, in his book To the Land of Our Forefathers notes the friendly attitude of the Bedouin towards the Zionist delegation, and their willingness to sell them vast tracts of land at low prices, so that they could settle near the Bedouin. The delegation recommended that most of the Jewish communities should be established in the Negev, because of the vast tracts of land that the Bedouin were willing to sell. How are we repaying the Bedouin today?
Zalman David Levontin, 1936:
“And we walked on the way from Gaza some four-five hours through and around Bedouin fields and dwellings, and we arrived at Nahal Gerar before daybreak…and on both sides of the stream were rows and rows of tents of Bedouin shepherds. There are no trees there and the entire clearing is planted with wheat and barley.” (Levontin, 1936:37).
http://rhr.org.il/eng/2014/05/get-the-facts-the-bizarre-claim-that-the-bedouin-invaded-the-negev2/
= new reply since forum marked as read
to think someone would even make such a __ claim in the first place 
thanks for posting
