Not greening, but weeding the Negev
https://www.haaretz.com/misc/article-print-page/1.4895291
Not greening, but weeding the Negev
The Zionist ethos of 'making the desert bloom' has made way for a new, distorted practice which entails intentional desertification.
Devorah Brous Mar. 10, 2006 | 12:00 AM
In the Negev, when it comes to building Jewish settlements and demolishing Bedouin ones, a few "making the desert bloom" references can go a long way. And when it comes to Arabs, when the Israeli government "thinks Green," it is often in the militaristic sense more than the "greening the desert" sense.
As a point of departure, consider the dissonance between two recent events. Just prior to Tu Bishvat, 2,500 dunams of Bedouin fields were destroyed by the Israel Land Authority's (ILA) "Green Patrol." On Tu Bishvat itself, a small group of politicians placed a smattering of saplings in holes dug by the Jewish National Fund (JNF), in the Negev. The candidates, planting for PR purposes, had permits; the Bedouin villagers, engaged in self-subsistence, did not. The Bedouin "broke the law." The Jews "made the desert bloom."
Even when the Bedouin go about their business with full permission, their rights can be revoked at any time. This week, Haaretz reported on the IDF's sudden decision to rescind Bedouin rights to graze their herds on the fringe of Negev training grounds. In effect, the state has expelled two-thirds of Bedouin herds from their former range, placing army priorities above all other considerations.
Several days before Tu Bishvat, Rahat Vice Mayor Youseff Abu Zayd stood over barley and wheat fields uprooted by the state. Abu Zayd told us he planted in vacant space "to be self-sufficient, and make a dignified living," in conscious defiance of the image of Bedouin as a burden. For the vice mayor, the Green Patrol's appearance was a surprise. "There was no chance to get to the courts. I am a public figure, and...since I know the police very well...I didn't expect to see them destroying my land."
ILA spokeswoman Ortal Tzabar acknowledged, "In all the court cases there have been about this until now, the [Bedouin] have lost - they are now afraid to go to court." Tzabar's admission underscores the fact that the refusal to grant any permits negates all incentive to secure legal go-ahead.
For Arab citizens, the ironic practice of uprooting on the verge of the planting festival reinforces a perception that Ben-Gurion's vision of "making the desert bloom" is a transparent code for "seeding" Jewish settlement and "transplanting" Arab villages. For most Jewish Israelis, the "green" language used by the Israeli government appears neutral, carrying humanistic connotations imbued with seemingly benign national memories. Our government has learned to take advantage of these positive associations, and become highly skilled at employing green rhetoric to conceal hegemonic political goals to demarcate and claim contested space.
As one Kadima man told the Jerusalem Post in the Negev last week, the party is "laying down roots that will last for many, many years." We may recall that, as a principle force behind the Gaza settlements, Ariel Sharon also envisaged a Negev propagated with a new wave of Jewish settlement. Accordingly, since the withdrawal, many have suggested that the "pioneering spirit" of the Gaza settlers should be channeled towards the Negev. Not long ago, American JNF President Ronald Lauder unveiled the "Blueprint Negev," a plan to attract 500,000 new settlers in a decade. In order to make way for the JNF's plans, the government has resolved to settle the "Bedouin question" once and for all. And the Green Patrol acts as messenger: As we uproot your "illegal" crops, we will soon come to uproot your "illegal" homes.
Rather than subsidizing the efforts of Bedouin citizens to grow food as a key component of efforts to green the desert, the State of Israel has created, in the Green Patrol (established by Sharon in 1976) an institutional version of the radical settlers who uproot ancient groves to "redeem" land for the Jews. Yet while the High Court ordered the Gaza settlers to evacuate, in the case of the Bedouin the High Court has never levied such a decision. Nevertheless, the planned transfer of 70,000 Bedouin from lands they have roved since the spread of Islam is downplayed in contrast with the removal of a few thousand Gaza colonists in settlements a few decades old.
"Green" rhetoric is a powerful and deceptive tool. Let's not be fooled. As a first step, we can reclaim green principles in defiance of the continuous degradation of the Negev. In essence this means infusing the ideal of "making the desert bloom" with humanism, above all else.
The writer is the director of Bustan - Eco-Justice Organization.
