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History of Afro-Bedouins in the Holy Land

HOLY LAND UNCOVERED | We all know the history of African Americans, their struggle for equality, and their dark chapter of slavery in the United States. But only few know that slavery was also common in other places, including among sectors in the Holy Land, specifically the Bedouin community. Our Shelby Weiner has the story. Story: When asked to explain the background of black Bedouins, black Bedouin community member Elham Alkamalat said she feels ‘sad as a black Bedouin’ because she feels ‘there are no roots’ for her and her community. ‘I know only two generations back of my family,’ she said. ‘The story says that all Bedouins who live in the Negev are Arab and Muslims, and they kidnapped children from Africa and brought them to the Negev desert to be slaves for community leaders — Bedouin community leaders.’ While the exact origin of Afro-Bedouins is unknown, their ancestors were likely sold from East Africa during the 19th and early 20th century. Under the British Mandate, slavery was made illegal. However, the practice was unregulated in the Negev’s Bedouin communities, continuing into the 1950’s and formally ending only after the State of Israel was born. During the 1970’s, the Israeli government began relocating Bedouin tribes to official settlements. Many Afro-Bedouins saw this as an opportunity to become landowners and move up in society. Today, around 60 percent of Israel’s Afro-Bedouin live in Rahat — the largest Bedouin municipality in Israel. However, they are still marginalized and segregated from the rest of Rahat’s Bedouin community. ‘The white side of the Tarabeen tribe refuse that the black side of the Tarabeen live among them,’ Alkamalat explained. There are ‘two neighborhoods — one next to the other. One side is black and the other side is white, and there is a barrier between them.’ A mother of four, Elham Al-Kamalat became a tour guide to show the plight of her community. She walks through Il Maydan, an all-black neighborhood where people live among debris and running sewage. Even though slavery has been illegal for decades, Afro-Bedouins are still called ‘Abed,’ a derogatory Arabic word which means both slave and black. But change is on the horizon, as for the first time an Afro-Bedouin was elected into the municipal government. ‘It's easy to blame others for your situation but we decided to take responsibility for ourselves. We wanted to make a change from the ground up, and we decided to cooperate with the local government. It was important for us to break tribalism in Rahat and give everyone a feeling of belonging,’ Majed Abu Blal, City Council member and co-Founder “Step Forward” NGO said. Before being elected to city council, Blal made it his life’s work to improve the status of woman and children in Rahat. His NGO, ‘Step Forward,’ increased the rate of female high school matriculation from 70 to 99 percent. ‘I must instill in the youth a sense of self-respect, motivation and ability,’ he said. ‘I want my daughter to know that like me, she can run for mayor. I want the Afro-Bedouin community to be in a position of equality, and that one day, this community will break out and be leaders.’ While one push for equality is embracing modernity, there is another, more traditional, force working towards the future. ‘This is the only tent among the homes and apartments in Rahat. I preserve the culture, mentality and laws of Bedouin life. It's very important — otherwise we'll be lost. I'm also the head of an association that promotes coexistence. We host guests and explain about our life,’ Sheikh Hassan, black Bedouin community member explains. ‘Today everything is better, but it wasn't so long ago we were the deprived among the deprived,’ Hassan continued. Hassan lives with his four wives and twenty children. He aims to both preserve Bedouin customs and help the advancement on the Afro-Bedouin community. As society is beginning to slowly shift, Afro-Bedouin leaders from all walks of life are looking to the future with optimism in their hearts and minds. For more, see below ⬇ Website Articles: https://www.i24news.tv/en Live: https://video.i24news.tv/page/live?cl... (Subscription) Replay: https://video.i24news.tv/page/5ab2a1b... (Subscription) Social Media Facebook:   / i24newsen   Twitter:   / i24news_en   Instagram:   / i24news