There aren’t very many Bedouins living in the Negev. All in all, they number close to 300,000 people, or 3% of Israel’s population. They are, however, one of the troubled groups in the region, afflicted by endemic poverty, low levels of education, and high rates of unemployment and crime.

One of the major problems facing the community is the dearth of housing. This can be attributed to the clan-based, nomadic structure of the traditional Bedouin community, which once wandered the region, but also to the shortage of settlements and neighborhoods that can address their distinct needs.

The government has begun to address this problem by deciding to create a new Bedouin city and to formalize “unrecognized villages,” which emerged without formal approval from the government, many of them built on state-owned land.

This change is happening because the Arab Ra’am party joined the government as a full coalition partner. Ra’am has many supporters in the Negev, and one of its Knesset members, Said al-Harumi, represented the community. Although Harumi died shortly after he was elected, the coalition agreement included recognition of three Bedouin villages and a program to settle the Bedouin “diaspora” of the Negev in permanent communities.