As Israel's development and implementation of the Prawer-Begin Plan progresses, we have collated a number of resources to help you better understand its implications for Israel's Bedouin sector. Most usefully is an excellent video from the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI):
The New Israel Fund is very active in fighting against the ‘Prawer-Begin Plan’ and is working to address the key issues that are relayed by NIF's Bedouin grantees. Shatil, NIF's action arm, has also mobilised in a number of areas.
In particular, there is a new coalition of 13 Jewish and Arab organizations, coordinated by SHATIL, which is working to oppose the Plan. The coalition, called the Forum for Equality and Justice in the Negev, includes Adalah and the Negev Coexistence Forum, together with ACRI, Bimkom Planners for Planning Rights, the Regional Council for Unrecognized Villages and other local Bedouin organisations.
The focus of the Forum's activities are an advocacy and legal campaign against the legislation to implement the Plan, now making its way through the Knesset; organizing the Bedouin community in the Negev; and enlisting Jewish Israelis in the campaign. The Forum is also promoting an Alternative Plan that was prepared by Bimkom's planners following an intensive 2 year consultation with local residents.
Further reading
- Prawer/Begin Plan for Negev Bedouin: What Happens Next? - ACRI
- Alternate Master Plan for the Negev - Bimkom
- Joint Position Paper on the Bill - ACRI and Adalah
- Information posted by NIF Australia in September, 2011 on the original version of the Prawer Plan