Against all planning logic

Eli Elan, Haaretz, 22/08/07. The numbers leave little room for doubt: not recognizing Bedouin villages in the Negev means blatant discrimination. There are 500 to 5,000 Israeli citizens living in each unrecognized village, which, according to all planning criteria accepted elsewhere in the country, are official communities in every respect. The Central Bureau of Statistics defines a community as a place where residents live regularly, with at least 40 adults and a local council, outside other communities' jurisdictions and recognized by the Interior Ministry. Accordingly, the Bedouin villages meet all objective criteria, and their official recognition is being blocked only by the government's capriciousness. Jewish communities that fit the description of these unrecognized villages receive recognition as a rule. Some Jewish communities that were established privately - without planning procedures or approval - were recognized after the fact. In addition, residents of existing Jewish communities were never requested to move to a neighboring community or city, while the state has asked Bedouin residents of the unofficial communities to move to recognized towns, such as Rahat. The ongoing discrimination against the Bedouin population of these unrecognized villages is a mark of shame on all of us. The government must recognize them immediately; the planning authorities must cease treating these villages as if they were transparent. They must integrate them in all national, district and regional plans, and provide the residents with such basic rights as shelter, infrastructure and the right to municipal representation.

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The writer is an architect and an urban planner, and a member of Bimkom - Planners for Planning Rights