This past weekend, we took a trip to the Negev and Eilat. While in the Negev, we had the opportunity to stop in Rahat and hear more about the day-to-day lives of some of Israel’s Bedouins from one of the city’s residents.
The Bedouins are one of Israel’s larger minority populations. Historically they have been a nomadic people, moving throughout the land wherever there was food. Many of us younger Jews have a somewhat idealistic view of Bedouins after staying in Bedouin tents during our Birthright trips, but anyone can tell you that those tents are more of a “Disneyland Bedouin” experience. Many of today’s Bedouins live in unrecognized villages throughout the country, many concentrated in the Negev (the desert in the south of Israel). These villages often lack things like running water or electricity, and may be comprised of makeshift homes and tents rather than formal houses. According to our guide, there are somewhere around 200,000 Bedouin villages, half of which are unrecognized.
Rahat is a Bedouin city (the only formally-recognized Bedouin city) and one of seven townships created by the Israeli government in the Negev to incentivize Bedouins to move off of their family land. These townships and cities have critical infrastructure we generally associate with towns and cities – electricity, running water, government services, etc. Visiting Rahat and listening to one of its residents – a young man – was eye-opening for all of us, and gave us the opportunity to learn much more beyond the “Disneyland” experience we’d had in the past.
The demographics of Rahat were surprising. Rahat has a population of about 65,000; two-thirds of that population is under the age of 18, with an average age of 20 or 21. Wherever we looked in Rahat, there were children – mostly boys – running around and watching us closely, even following our bus around.
A Bedouin man is allowed to have up to four wives (though few actually have four). Currently under construction is “New Rahat,” being built for teens who want to get married and start families of their own.
In the city, there are 10-12 families – more accurately described as tribes. These families are comprised of thousands of people. We had the opportunity learn more about this family structure and how it worked when our local guide invited us to a tent his family had erected for a weeklong wedding celebration.
We also heard from young women about their lives in Rahat as Bedouins. Though traditional, they’ve also progressed in terms of equality with the times.
Trips like these are essential for those of us who don’t hail from Israel. While an experience like Birthright is important for many young Jews, it is more of a glossy postcard than a detailed letter. It’s important for us to learn more about and from the people – all of the people – who live in Israel.
Third of a Life Crisis 