TheMarker's Socio-Economic Conference for Bedouin Society in Cooperation with FES Israel

These are the issues that TheMarker's Socio-Economic Conference for Bedouin Society addressed, in collaboration with the Friedrich Ebert-Stiftung, the Tamam Group, Ajeec, Tamar, Budur, and the Rahat Economic Society. The conference took place in Rahat, in the heart of Bedouin society in the Negev, and brought together the voices of women, public figures, activists, and experts in the Bedouin society.

Participants in the conference included among others Dr. Mansour Abbas, Chairman of Ra’am; Maj. Gen. (res.) Yair Golan, Chairman of the Democratim; former Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, Chairman of the Yashar! Party; Talal Al-Karnawi, Mayor of Rahat and Chairman of the Forum of Heads of Bedouin Authorities in the Negev; Ibrahim Nassasra, Chairman and Founder of the Tamam Group; Judith Stelmach, Project Manager at the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung; and Dr. Nasreen Hadad Haj-Yahya, Co-CEO, NAS.

At the opening of the conference, Talal Al-Karnawi, Mayor of Rahat and Chairman of the Forum of Heads of Bedouin Authorities in the Negev, critisized the government ministers who were not present at the conference and said: "We look to the future, we do not cry over the past, and we are not looking for the check of any government ministry or business organization. What we are asking for is a partnership between us and the government ministries, and not for them to see us as a foreign entity."

Eitan Felsenstein, CEO of the Tamam Group, claimed that "over the years, Israeli governments have treated the Negev as a problem and Bedouin society as a challenge - instead of seeing them as an opportunity. We need to change the angle and perspective and understand that the Negev is a strategic resource."

"The crime situation in the Negev is complete lawlessness, and you ask 'Where are the police?!' But it is also important to say - the problem will not be solved without a comprehensive plan that does not only deal with crime but with the entirety of life: this means taking care of young people, with informal education, with professional training. So that a young man does not go to crime, but goes to work because he has acquired a profession," said Maj. Gen. (res.) Yair Golan, chairman of the Democratim Party. He added: "I invest at least one day a week in Arab society and I do not do it to garner votes. I do this because I don't believe that a Zionist party could boycott 20% of Israel's residents. In the Declaration of Independence, the state called on the Arab public to participate in building the country, during the War of Independence. So, what's the problem with doing it today? What's the problem with telling the dear public here that you will be our partners in building the Negev and the state? Precisely because the development here is at such a low level and because the socio-economic clusters here are low, it is possible to catapult the population up to an unimaginable level. We just have to decide to do it and not deepen the problems." 

Chairman of the Ra'am Party, Dr. Mansour Abbas, noted: "A government without an Arab partner will not invest its full efforts and resources within Arab society. Parties always have priorities and a desire to please their audience, because that is the DNA of politicians. Therefore, our partnership in the coalition is a necessary condition. Our most important achievement is that we were able to form a coalition with an Arab party, from which all other achievements have been derived."

Shamsi Massad, principal of the Al-Sana Tamar Branco Weiss High School in Rahat, presented the current situation, which she said continues to deepen inequality. "About half of the Bedouin population today belongs to the education system, with an emphasis on students under the age of 16. The problem is that we sometimes forget that behind these figures and numbers there are young and talented people. It is for them and for their sake that we come to the education system every morning, and the talent of those students does not always meet the opportunity." Still, with an optimistic view, Massad presented at the conference an approach according to which the responsibility for the future of Bedouin education lies in the hands of all parties. "Education must first and foremost be an education in values. We do this with the limited resources we have, and we do it excellently. For example, in four years we managed to reach 98% eligibility for high school matriculation. This does not happen alone, but through hard work, perseverance and faith. However, there must be a system that sees this interest and places it at the top of the priority list." 

Hassan Towafra, partner and founder of Maximize and former head of the Arab Society Economic Development Authority, defined the education system in Bedouin society as a miracle. He explained that "in fact, the state only started investing in education here ten years ago. The fact that in 2026 there are communities in the State of Israel without an education system is a shame. After all, a city that does not have its own revenues will not be able to provide remedial classes, scholarships for students and educational support." According to Towafra, the investment of the last decade, although it is a relatively small investment – tens of millions per year – is already starting to show results. "The eligibility rates for matriculation have increased, and there is an increase in the number of students who go to academia and later also integrate into employment. The potential in the education system in Bedouin society is enormous. There is no choice but to increase the investment of resources in these communities intensively, with an emphasis on planning equal and shared opportunities. As long as this does not happen, these gaps will only continue to overwhelm Israeli society."

"The driving force for social and economic change in Bedouin society in Israel lies in Bedouin women, in their education and their integration into the labor market. "This is actually the secret lever of the Negev," said Judith Stelmach, project manager at FES Israel. Stelmach presented data at the conference on a sharp increase in the rate of Bedouin female academics. "In 2018-2019, women accounted for 76% of all undergraduate students from Bedouin society, and in 2021, just two years later, the figure jumped to 81%. " She testified that the ratio of female students to male students is significantly higher compared to other groups in society, including in non-Bedouin Arab communities. "This is a crazy success story," she emphasized. At the same time, Stelmach noted the difficult obstacles Bedouin women face and defined the issue of house demolitions as one that primarily affects women and children, since "a home is not just four walls. It is a roof, security, a foundation that we need so that we can go out into the world and be strong." She also pointed to other phenomena that hinder progress, such as polygamy, which "is not fading and is even expanding," and violence against women, which is on the rise. 

"A country that does not address this type of phenomenon is shirking its responsibility and is not giving the security it should give its citizens," she said firmly. "At the same time, and despite all the difficulties, there are many success stories today of Bedouin women who have reached key positions in academia, in the fields of education, health, public service and law, and of course in civil society. The current challenge for Bedouin society is to turn these personal success stories into an institutionalized infrastructure that will allow more women to reach CEO positions, senior management in local authorities, and national political representation, and thus take an active part in decision-making processes in order to find holistic solutions that serve society as a whole."

Click here to watch videos from the conference

Click here to download Judith Stelmach's (FES Israel) presentation 

All photos: ©David Bachar/TheMarker