Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hananiah narrates in Tractate Eruvin that one of the only ones who defeated him in words was a boy on his way to a city he did not know.
The boy guided him, and said that there was a long and short way and a short and long way.
The Rebbe chose the short-long way, got caught in a maze of orchards and had to retrace his steps.
When he met the boy again and scolded him, he replied: The long and short way is the right way.
The lesson is clear: there are no shortcuts to real solutions.
Nor for the problems and challenges in the Negev.
The horrific attack in Be'er Sheva is an end in itself - it is about who fell into ISIS 'crazy network of ideology.
Happily, it has no real grip even among Bedouin society.
The role of the security forces is to isolate, track and punish those who roll into these horror districts.
But the attack gave a boost to those who have been selling us for years the dubious goods of the "Bedouin takeover" and "lack of governance" in the Negev, and offer us a magic solution: to see the Bedouin as enemies of the state and use a lot of force against them.
As we learned from Rabbi Yehoshua, the short way is a dead end.
Power and resources need to be invested in enforcement and the fight against criminal organizations in the Negev.
But to dry the egg need to take care of the sources.
Bedouin society is the poorest in Israel.
More than 100,000 Bedouin in the Negev live in unrecognized villages, with minimal infrastructure of electricity, water, education, health and welfare.
Throughout human history there has been a correlation between poverty and crime.
Low socio-economic status leads young people to a lack of opportunities, and to choosing crime as a way out of a life of scarcity and poverty.
It does not remove responsibility from the criminals.
Nor does it remove responsibility from the Bedouin leadership.
She must be active and at the forefront of the struggle.
But, the swamp will only dry up a prosperity of localities and communities.
We can go captive after the simplistic and violent view of "Regavim" and Jewish power, of the Bedouin as an enemy.
But if we have honesty, we should ask: How did a company that excelled in volunteering for the IDF become an alienated society for Israel? The tribalism, but do not produce a good life for those who have made a transition within a two-generation from nomadic life to Western life?
There are many bright spots.
Great Bedouin leadership and leaders, who need our support and partnership to lead change.
There is an unprecedented decline in world birth rates (from 10.6 per family to 4.9 in two decades), as a result of women's education.
There are the "Desert Stars" and a host of wonderful initiatives.
This is the long-short road, and only it will bring results, if we persevere.
Were we wrong?
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