The History of the Bedouin Community in Taibeh

Taibeh Histoty

2007-06-10T23:17:00.000-07:00

Tayibe (Arabic: طيّبة Ṭayyibaḧ, Hebrew: טייבה; also spelled Taibeh or Tayiba) is a city in the Center District of Israel in Israel. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), at the end of 2004 the city had a total population of 32,100.
Demographics
According to CBS, in 2001 the ethnic makeup of the city was 100.0% Arab (99.7% Muslim), with no significant Jewish population. See Population groups in Israel.
According to CBS, in 2001 there were 15,100 males and 14,500 females. The population of the city was spread out with 47.5% 19 years of age or younger, 17.4% between 20 and 29, 20.3% between 30 and 44, 9.6% from 45 to 59, 2.0% from 60 to 64, and 3.3% 65 years of age or older. The population growth rate in 2001 was 3.2%.
History, 1948-1950
During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War the Israeli forces managed to capture the town lands, but never managed to capture the town itself. According to Gilmour: "With the news of the armistice the inhabitants were furious that they had simply been handed over [by Abdullah I of Jordan ] to Israel but were understandably relieved that they were to be reunited with their land. Or so they thought. However, the Law of Acquisition of Absentee Property, which was passed in 1950 but made retroactive, was specially devised to take care of cases like this. Although they had not moved from their village, the inhabitants were declared "absentees" (or Internally Displaced Palestinians) and their land "abandoned property". According to the villagers, they lost 8,000 of their 11,000 acres (45 km²). (Walter Schwarz: The Arabs in Israel Faber & Faber, London 1959, p. 40, and Israel and Palestine, No. 51 (August 1976), p.1. Both quoted in Gilmour, p. 106))
Income
According to CBS, as of 2000, in the city there were 4,859 salaried workers and 559 are self-employed. The mean monthly wage in 2000 for a salaried worker in the city is ILS 3,270, a real change of -0.5% over the course of 2000. Salaried males have a mean monthly wage of ILS 3,796 (a real change of 0.9%) versus ILS 2,318 for females (a real change of -6.7%). The mean income for the self-employed is 3,826. There are 379 people who receive unemployment benefits and 3,151 people who receive an income guarantee.
Education
According to CBS, there are 13 schools and 6,970 students in the city. They are spread out as 9 elementary schools and 3,984 elementary school students, and 4 high schools and 2,986 high school students. 49.7% of 12th grade students were entitled to a matriculation certificate in 2001.

Bedouin Community Background

2007-06-10T13:22:00.000-07:00

The Bedouin population of Taibeh originates from the area called Tel-Malkhatah in the Negev, which was transformed into a military base, today called “Nevatim”. The Bedouin population was wronged as a result of the peace process between Israel and Egypt which took place in the late 70’s. The state of Israel chose the land in these areas to erect military bases previously placed in Sinai.
After the decision was made to confiscate the land, the state of Israel founded an administrative body whose role was to negotiate with the Bedouins of Tel-Malkhatah and improve the situation of the Bedouins whose lands were confiscated or who soled their lands to the state. The managing body only made the situation worse for the Bedouins. As if it was not enough that confiscate the land, it offered very meager compensation in return.
We waged an unprecedented legal battle in order to obtain our most basic rights after such an evacuation – adequate compensation as well as righting the wrong done to the offended families whose lands were confiscated. Sadly, we lost in all legal instances and all our judicial attempts were blocked by the assertion that our lands were a “military zone necessary for the defense of all of the citizens of the State”. Even the supposedly objective legal system caused much misery to the Bedouins, soon to be citizens of Taibeh, thus affected our education, development and more. Our parents decided to receive meager compensation and with little funds and few choices, decided in the early 80’s to immigrate to the area of Kalansuwah, in the Triangle area, some 12 Km north-east of Kfar Saba. There we received fair treatment and an understanding of our plight from good people who agreed to offer them housing for three years for no pay. The parents, along with sons, went out to do hard manual labor in order to earn money and buy land. After a certain period, the landlords where our parents were living requested their lands back, since we wanted to use them to build houses for our children. Our parents then found a few acres in Taibeh and immigrated there towards the end of 1984. On arrival in Taibeh we suffered hostile treatment from the local population who did not welcome us and did not accept the reality of our lands being confiscated by the state. We were called names such as “traitors who serve in the Israeli Army (even though Taibeh is an Israeli town in every sense).
Next, the Bedouins suffered several forms of harassment. As if it was not enough that the state confiscated the lands with no recompense, in 1988 the municipality of Taibeh decided to destroy several buildings that were ready for inhabitance, claiming we did not have building permits. Only recently, and due to pressure from above does the Taibeh municipality intend to include the Bedouin neighborhood in its master plan. The program, however, is stuck due to political interests.

Bedouin Association's Background

2007-06-10T13:20:00.000-07:00

The Bedouin Association for Education & Health Development was established as a registered, non-profit organization in 2002 by concerned, local residents who wanted to improve the educational levels and the living conditions of the Bedouin community in the center of Israel. After years of continued neglect by both the local Municipalities and the Israeli government, Bedouin residents organized on the grassroots level with the aim of affecting and improving our own destiny. Last year, a new board of directors was elected democratically in order to build an effective, strategic plan of action for the community. The current board includes Bedouin professionals in the fields of education, nursing, accounting, and journalism and we are currently working to recruit other volunteers in order to work together to revitalize the community. With little funding, and with the goodwill of volunteers, we have begun implementing after-school programming for youth. With support, our organization seeks to work in the following areas over the next few years:
 Education: strengthening Bedouin youth through educational enrichment, sports activities, youth-at-risk programs and leadership development that increase their self-esteem and their chances to stay in school and to not turn to violence and drugs.
 Women’s Empowerment: building programs in the areas of literacy, economic development, health and child development and consciousness raising in order to encourage to work and to have another source of money, to have their independence and to be active in decision-making at home and in general.
 Advocacy: we seek to work with the local and national authorities to improve the living conditions and to educate and empower the residents to improve our life. We will raise awareness in aspect of health rights and we are going to empower women in different fields.

Mosque in the Bedouin Neighborhood

2007-06-10T12:51:00.000-07:00

This mosque building is not completed, the mosque committee looks for donations to finish it. If you have the ability to donate, please do not hesitate to contact us. Thank all of you.