The Ben-Gurion Conference in the Negev, held yesterday at the initiative of Makor Rishon newspaper and the Ben-Gurion Heritage Institute, once again raised the painful issues of the Negev, and at the same time presented the best ideas so as not to stop the good that has already been done in the southern region.
The first session of the conference, which was hosted on the Ben-Gurion campus of the Sde Boker College, dealt with the theme "In the Negev, the people of Israel will be tested – are we really being tested?" and was attended by, among others, current and former mayors and regional councils. "We are in our best decade," said Dimona Mayor Benny Biton, demanding that "authority be transferred to the mayors, because they own the house and they know what their residents need."
Regarding the issue of the complementary airport in Nevatim, Biton said, "This is in the court of the IDF, the defense minister and the government, and I will not concede to anyone on the issue. In the north they don't want it, in the center it bothers them – but we want it. It will also end the Bedouin issue and regulate the territories. We need to build a city like Modi'in for the Bedouins in the Negev. No more Hura, they want to live in high-density construction. Until we solve their education, employment and housing, the situation will continue and if it is good for them, it will be good for us."
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Bitton also addressed the problem of unemployment among the Bedouin residents of the area. "Over the past decade, the Negev has seen a boom in construction, development, and tremendous success in education and culture. The time has come for the Negev, and not just in words. If Ben-Gurion's vision is to be realized, a complementary airport must be built in the Negev. This will change the Negev from end to end, bringing in 30,<> jobs," he said.
"To share from the great abundance." Ohana, Photo: Liron Moldovan
"The Bedouins – Growth Engine"
On the other hand, Yeruham Mayor Tal Ohana emphasized that "the success of the Negev cannot be measured only by numbers. Residents will say that they are happy to live in their city, but if you ask the Bedouin communities, you get different answers. The Negev's biggest growth engine is the Bedouin, and we are strong enough to share the great abundance for their benefit as well, because their failure affects us all.
"Car theft harms the sense of security of our residents, and from this place I want to say: there are collaborations between the authorities today that did not exist in the past, but this is not enough – we must open our eyes and say what more can be done for our Bedouin neighbors."
"Road Travel - Roulette". Doron, Photo: Liron Moldovan
The head of the Ramat Hanegev Regional Council, Eran Doron, raised the most painful point – Highway 40, which is plagued by accidents – and declared that "governance begins with the roads, this is the biggest failure. Highway 40 is the road that leads the people of Israel to Eilat, but it doesn't interest Likud ministers. Israel Katz and Miri Regev don't count us out. In their view, if there is no Likud, they will not give money.
"The minister promised me she would come, but she's not coming and I'm not waiting for her. We bring money from donations to take care of the things the state should have done. On the roads the state has failed completely, we have been abandoned and every trip is roulette. Anyone planning to travel to Eilat is taking a risk, and in the current situation, it is better not to travel there via Highway 40."
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