Photo Credit: Flash 90
The Palestinian Authority backed by EU funds, has sent Bedouin into the E-1 area of Ma'aleh Adumim to claim it is part of their "history."

Several years ago I accompanied a friend who runs a canine search and rescue unit to a small farm near the town of Ofakim in the Negev. The owner of the farm was surrounded by hostile Bedouins who demanded protection money. While the larger neighboring farms all paid them off for fear of having their greenhouses torched, or the unpleasantness of an unwanted evisceration, he alone refused to be extorted.

First they poisoned his dogs. Then they vandalized his farm. And then one evening as darkness fell, a gang of Bedouins descended upon him with knives, stabbing him repeatedly. Thank G-d he survived. The farmer wasn’t around during our visit. A lone teenager was tending his farm, without any gun or a knife. I left him a walking stick for protection. My understanding is that the farmer has since abandoned his farm. No one could help him. The army never deals with Bedouins. The police don’t deal with anything. Other than sporadic incidents, the Bedouins are untouchable.

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Several years back, there was the Shai Dromi incident where a Jewish farmer got into trouble for killing a Bedouin intruder. Although he was acquitted of manslaughter, he was imprisoned for a month. Eventually they passed the “Shai Dromi Bill” which states that you have a right to protect yourself. Easier said than done. Despite his acquittal on the more severe charges, Dromi was convicted for illegal possession of weapons. Do you think it’s easy to procure a gun license in the south? Think again. If Dromi could have obtained one legally, he would have.

“Authentic Bedouin” Experiences

Route 40 takes you through the heart of the Negev, where you can’t help but notice the extent of the unbridled land-grabbing of Bedouins. Naive tourists clap their hands with glee at the occasional “Camel Crossing” signs, or watching herds of ravenous goats (many of them stolen from Jews) devour everything green. There is nothing amusing about these signs. Their history is written in Jewish blood.

The signs should read“Bedouin Camels Crossing” since the current verbiage gives the uninformed traveler the false impression that wild camels sometimes cross the road. While one isn’t happy to hit a deer or other wild animal, there is no malice involved when an unknowing animal strays too close to the road. The careful driver is aware of this. There are no wild camels today in Israel, nor even in the expanses of the Arabian Desert. They are all Bedouin owned camels and their owners deliberately let them wander. It would be easy to fasten them to a secure location. Too many Jews have been killed or spend the rest of their lives in comas as a result of collisions with camels. Hitting a camel at any speed is like hitting a truck. I knew a man with a wife and kids whose car collided with a camel several years back. He almost died from the impact. Today he has brain damage.

Were Israel a normal country, the Bedouins would be severely punished for this outrage. Listen to the draconian response from the regional leaders. After several such unfortunate incidents, the authorities running the Negev Region of Southern Chelm, required that all camels have ID tags attached to their ears. The Bedouin wasn’t phased by this. Proving that Bedouin chutzpah and craftiness easily trumps the Jewish “kup,” they simply snipped off the camel’s ear. Many of these earless camels are now crossing the Negev roads.

Be careful driving at night. Heaven Forbid, hitting an earless camel is just like hitting a regular one.

Rahat In The News

Leftists portray the Bedouin town of Rahat as a “moderate” one. Here are a few highlights from the enlightened town of Rahat.

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Donny Fuchs made aliyah in 2006 from Long Island to the Negev, where he resides with his family. He has a keen passion for the flora and fauna of Israel and enjoys hiking the Negev desert. His religious perspective is deeply grounded in the Rambam's rational approach to Judaism.