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Grab a market: the Bedouin market from Be'er Sheva was reborn in Rahat - voila! Of money

2022-12-30T05:03:02.749Z


In 2017, the Bedouin market in Be'er Sheva, an attraction that attracted visitors from all over the country, was closed. On Saturday, it reopened, this time in Berhat. The organizers expect thousands of visitors to liven up the businesses in the city


Memories of the past and hopes for the future: the Bedouin market in Rahat (Photo: Muhammad El Omer, Rahat Economic Company)

Last Saturday there was great excitement in the city of Rahat due to the opening of the Bedouin market.

This market, which has its own unique color, may also succeed in reviving some of the memories and experiences of the mythical Bedouin market, which operated for many years in Be'er Sheva and attracted many visitors from all over the country.

About six years ago, the market in the capital of the Negev was closed.

Now, while changing location, you can once again visit the Bedouin market, look for bargains and enjoy the smells and colors.



"The closing of the market at the time was a serious blow to the livelihood of the merchants. I remember that there were also all kinds of demonstrations and protests following the decision to close it," says

Mahmoud El Omer, CEO of the Berhat Economic Company

.

"The opening of the Bedouin market in Berhat is part of the touristic and economic revolution that the city is undergoing. We are promoting Rahat as a secondary metropolis to Beer Sheva. We are establishing Rahat as the center of Bedouin society in the Negev economically, culturally and religiously. Just as Beer Sheva was in the past the center of the Bedouin in terms of receiving services, shopping And what's more, we want it to be perfect."



Is opening the market one of the means to promote the goal?


"Even when I was a child, I remember my mother receiving the child allowance and going shopping either in the city market in Be'er Sheva or in the Bedouin market. That's how most Bedouins would do it. They would live in their settlements but the center of their life was in Be'er Sheva.



We want the center of life to be in Berhat We do many things for this, and one of them is the establishment of the market. The market is one of the most central levers, and it is also symbolic for us. It was very important for us to bring the market to Rahat. For us, this is the closing of the circle, that the Bedouin market returns to Rahat, for the Bedouin population."



Elamour adds: "In addition to the market, we are now opening the Heritage Center for Bedouin Culture, which is actually the first Bedouin museum in Berhat. We have already opened a cultural hall with 500 seats. Soon we will also open the Sharia Court, which is currently in Be'er Sheva. The goal is, as mentioned, that the center of life will be Rahat and not Beer Sheva."

"The market is one of the most central levers" (Photo: Muhammad El Omer, Rahat Economic Company)

Live from Shabbat to Shabbat

The decision of the Rahat Municipality and the Rahat Economic Company to open the Bedouin market in the city follows its closure in Be'er Sheva in 2017. "We have been involved in the establishment of the market for about five years, including fundraising, planning and execution," Elamore says.

"15 million shekels were invested in this, and the market was opened with the support of the Ministries of the Interior and Agriculture. The excitement is very great. On the opening day, there was a happening, an authentic Bedouin tent with artists, we advertised the opening all over the country. It is a market that should be visited by tourists from Israel and abroad.

There is great excitement in the city.

Now we are running.

The expectation is that thousands will come every Shabbat."



As of the opening of the market, about 50 merchants staffed it, but Elamor predicts that within a month the occupancy will be full, i.e. 100 merchants.

"It's always like this," he says.

"Always in the beginning people want others to start and try. People will see that it really works and they will come. The merchants are not only furniture makers. There are also from other communities, from Tel Sheva, Lakia, Hora. We also received inquiries from Lod and Ramla and from the 'Triangle' area. There are also Jews who want to trade The plan is that the market will be open on Thursdays and Saturdays. Meanwhile, in the first month or two as part of the pilot, it will only be open on Saturdays."



During the pilot period, the new market, which covers 21 dunams and includes ample shading and parking facilities, will be open on Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

There will be stalls with diverse produce of spices, fruits and vegetables, household items, food stalls and more.

"A wing for the sheep market was also prepared on the spot," says Elamore.

"It will replace the pirate market that exists today in Rahat. People sell sheep,



To what extent can the opening of the market improve the employment situation of the Bedouin population?


"The employment situation today is not the best. We are talking about 65% of employed men and 28% of women. The market does not come to solve all employment problems, but it can help. If there are, for example, 30 women who come and sell the things they make at home, that will help. And if there are 30 more merchants from Herhat who earn a decent living, that is also a success. If the market brings tourists from outside of Herhat, then people will also walk around, eat in Herhat, buy things in the stores. The market can be a lever for the whole city and not just for the merchants who sell there."

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Mahmoud El Omer, CEO of Berhat Economic Company (Photo: Islam Alsana)

Memories of B.S

The colorful mythological Bedouin market operated in Beer Sheva for many years near the old city, selling cheap clothing, footwear and many other products, it was a meeting place and connection between Jews and Bedouins and created a collective memory in many homes in the Negev.

Over the years it has lost its authenticity and uniqueness.

At the beginning of 2017, the Be'er Sheva municipality decided to close the market, among other reasons due to the loss of its authentic character.

Market traders tried to fight the decree, embarked on a legal battle, in the end the decision to close the market remained in place.

Now they are trying in the new market in Berhat to provide a touristic and consumer experience for the residents of the Negev and the country in general.



"Today's children will remember the new market in 20 years also as an experience, perhaps different from what we as children remembered from the market in Be'er Sheva. But I have no doubt that the new market will be special because it is inside Rahat," says El Omer.



Will the new market be able to reproduce the success of the mythical market in Beer Sheva?


"It won't be the same market. Every market is different from another market and every market goes through several stages in its life. It's true that you named it there, but it will have its own special character, a different experience."



El Omer is not afraid that the reports of crime incidents by criminals from the Bedouin diaspora will deter visitors from coming to the market.



"We are aware of the story of the media campaign being waged against the Bedouin, but this is not the reality. The reality is much better," he claims.

"In recent years, Rahat has become a host city for all sectors, this alongside becoming the largest Bedouin cultural center in the country. It is true that we suffer from shootings at weddings and fights. This is because those who are supposed to take care of this are not doing their job. But in total, 80,000 residents live in Rahat and most of them want to live Good.



About 1,000 Jews work in Rahat.

In our city hall building we have about 50 Jewish workers, some of whom have been coming every day to furnish furniture for decades, it doesn't matter if there is crime, there is no crime.

People don't feel it.

Living together in Berhat is special, there is no place like it in Israel despite all the media items you hear about it.

The reality is different, very good, people live here.

The Bedouins work for the Jews, the Jews work for the Bedouins, there are Jewish entrepreneurs who work in furniture, there are joint businesses of Jews and Bedouins."



El Omer adds: "We are developing the city as a tourist city.

Buses of tourists come here every day and people go through a shocking experience here.

Our vision is that the citizens of Israel will come to Rahat on Saturdays, shop there, eat in the local restaurants and kebab shops, stay in our host houses and enjoy the Bedouin hospitality culture.

One of our goals is to show that real life is not as it is presented,

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Source: walla

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