Kan English

One of the large sectors of Israel’s society that is absent from the social demonstrations that have been sweeping the country for the past six month are Israel’s Bedouin community. A survey conducted by the Rifman Institute found that over 80% of Israel's Bedouin population is not well-versed in Israel’s proposed judicial reform, with only 6% of respondents saying they knew about the situation on a deeper level. Israel’s roughly 300,000 Bedouins do not seem bothered by the issue that has divided the country. Only 5% of respondents said they would participate politically regarding the judicial reform bill, though 8% said they would if there was the backing of an organization behind them. Elul Rifman, head of the advising committee of the Rifman Institute, said that the survey shows that the Bedouin community of Israel was largely disconnected from the broader Israeli society. He said lack of promotion of the Bedouin society in the Negev was a barrier to the development of the region and that had to change. (p