ארכיון polygamy

General

ו' אדר ב' התשפ"ב - 09 March 2022

A state-within-a-state has taken shape in southern Israel: Bedouistan, the lawless state of the Negev.

Astonishing quantities of illegal weapons, land-grabs, water and electricity theft, drug trafficking and marijuana plantations on IDF firing zones, agricultural terrorism, protection rackets, home invasions, theft and armed robbery – all this and more make up the daily reality of the Negev.

“Bedouistan” raises some hard questions:
Why does every Bedouin receive a free parcel of land for their 18th birthday?
Why is the Negev the world’s polygamy capital?
How is it possible that some 400 million shekels is being stolen by illegal petrol stations in the Negev each year?
What’s the truth behind the claim that the Bedouin are the Negev’s “indigenous population”?

The Regavim Movement has been studying, documenting and recommending solutions for the Negev for over 16 years, and now Meir Deutsch, Director General of Regavim, has published a book that offers an insider’s view of the situation on the ground in the region that comprises some 60% of the territory of the State of Israel. This important and unique volume presents a factual view of what’s really happening down south – and what can be done to turn the situation around.

It’s not too late reassert Israel’s sovereignty in the Negev.

Order your copy today, and learn more!

י"ז חשון התשפ"א - 04 November 2020

Last week, the Beer Sheva Magistrates Court sentenced an Israeli Bedouin to seven months in prison, after he was found guilty of polygamy. The man, a resident of the Negev, was already married when he took an additional wife.

Although polygamy has been illegal in Israel since 1951, this is only the second time that a polygamist was sentenced to jail time

Polygamy harms the most vulnerable members of Bedouin society, causing poverty and neglect of women & children. It also has a far-reaching impact on Israel’s economy, as it is funded and driven almost entirely by National Insurance Institute (Bituach Leumi) stipends and benefits.

Regavim has been studying and monitoring the practice of polygamy in the Bedouin sector for years. We presented the Ministry of Justice with a comprehensive report and analysis of the phenomenon, which acted as one of the factors leading to the formulation of the Ministry’s new directives to grapple with the problem. And we are members of the Inter-ministerial Committee that monitors the application and enforcement of these directives.

Well done to former Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked and Attorney Emi Palmor, former Director General of the Ministry of Justice, for their leadership in bringing about this much-needed change!

We hope that strict sentences, coupled with educational initiatives and awareness campaigns among young Bedouin men, will bring an end to polygamy in Israel once and for all.

Regavim: Preserving Israel’s Resources, Restoring Israeli Sovereignty

י"ח אלול התש"פ - 07 September 2020

Today (September 7), the Shin Bet security agency announced that it foiled a Hamas bombing attack at Bilu Junction in central Israel. Mahmud Makdad, an Israeli citizen from the Bedouin town of Segev Shalom in the Negev, was apprehended as he attempted to plant an explosive device in a bus stop at the bustling junction.

Nine others, nearly all residents of Segev Shalom, were arrested for conspiring or actively participating in the foiled attack – including Mahmud’s brother, Ahmed Makdad.

The Makdad brothers’ mother is an Israeli Bedouin, while their father hails from the Gaza Strip. Mahmud is married to woman who resides in Gaza; he spends half his time there. He was enlisted by the military wing of Hamas to reconnoiter sensitive spots throughout Israel, provide information on the location of Iron Dome installations, and was trained to carry out explosive-device attacks.

Regavim conducted an in-depth study on polygamy in the Bedouin sector, and is a participant in the inter-ministerial team convened by the government to monitor enforcement of anti-polygamy laws and implementation of government policy.

According to Regavim’s 2018 study, as a result of marriages between Palestinian women (mainly residents of the Hebron area & the Gaza Strip) and Bedouin men who hold Israeli citizenship, between 40,000-60,000 Palestinian women and their children were living in the Negev in 2015. This figure, based on Israeli social welfare agencies’ estimates, reflects a rate of polygamy in Israel’s Bedouin sector of some 35%; in these polygamous households, some 70% of the women are Palestinian. A study published by Professor Arnon Sofer in 2004 quoted sources that estimated the number of Palestinians living in the northern Negev at that time was between 50,000 – 65,000.

We cannot ignore the fact that the Makdad brothers are products of the practice of polygamy in the Bedouin sector. As Bedouin men seek a second, third or even fourth wife, a massive ‘import-export trade’ has burgeoned in the Negev, enabling for the connection of families to hostile groups in Gaza/the PA.

While these arrests should not cast aspersions on the entire Bedouin sector, the trend of ‘Palestinianization’ of the Bedouin sector must be addressed!

In recent years, thanks to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s directives and former Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked’s efforts, progress has been made to tackle this issue. However, the government is focusing mainly on the socioeconomic and personal aspects of the practice of polygamy, rather than on its national-social aspects. This time, the ticking bomb was defused – quite literally – but the problem has not been solved.

Regavim: Preserving Israel’s Resources, Restoring Israeli Sovereignty