Since the beginning of the Iron Swords War, 19 Bedouin residents from the south, including six children, have been murdered in the fighting and rocket fire. There are also 11 missing persons.
In the diaspora and in the unrecognized villages, there are rough estimates of more than 100 people, a woman and a child without protection, and some of them do not even have "Red Alert" warnings. This causes stress and anxiety as we Jews experience it, and maybe even a little more.
Heavy barrage towards southern settlements, fall detected in Ashkelon
Most mental health support centers provide solutions in Hebrew. A few, because of language gaps, give it in Arabic. Tamar, which specializes in providing emotional and mental responses in emergencies and trauma due to the security situation, operates a helpline for emotional support in Arabic. The hotline is staffed by psychologists and social workers from Arab society at 08-6552344. They report thousands of calls and requests from the Bedouin public for support and mental health assistance.
The war affects everyone, Bedouin and Jews,
Imagine a situation in which a person experiences real fear for his life in an agricultural field, literally a living target for Hamas terrorists, but when he escapes he encounters security forces who think he is a terrorist. "One of the most difficult calls we received was from a young Bedouin man who was in the kibbutzim area on the same day the terrorists infiltrated southern Israel," says Raed Abu Siyam, a psychologist at the Tamar helpline. "In the conversation, he describes the chaos and the attempt to escape with every shot heard in the air. He encountered a squad of terrorists and spoke to them in Arabic in an attempt to understand what was happening around him. They tried to kidnap him, and in an instant he managed to escape and reach the security forces. The first thought of the security forces was that he was part of the terrorist squad. He was examined for many minutes, himself a victim, to prove his identity."
"We do not identify with ISIS"
In recent weeks, we have encountered enough heroic stories of the guys from the sector. A Bedouin driver, Yousef al-Ziadne, saved 30 people from the massacre at a bad party at great personal risk when he drove a minibus on the ground under fire.
Yousef al-Ziadne saved about 30 people from the inferno at a party in Re'im, Photo: Haim Goldberg / Flash90
The fallen should be mentioned: Salman Ibn Mar'i, 41, a tracker in the southern brigade of the Gaza Division; Khedive Abu al Kiyan, 21, from Hura of Golani's 13th Battalion, who fell in Nahal Oz; 'Amer Abu Sbileh, 25, from Abu Talul, married with two children, who was murdered near the Sderot police station while trying to save Dolev and Odya Suissa's 6- and 3-year-old daughters, who were murdered in their car as they tried to escape. They also thought he was a terrorist who tried to kidnap children.
The "Guardian of the Walls 2.0" scenario did not go off the table of scenarios, because in fact the Israeli arrogance and "it will be fine" eventually led us to the October 7 disaster.
But in an interview we conducted with the commander of the southern district of the Israel Police, Amir Cohen, on the 11th day of the fighting, when asked about it, he said clearly: "We spoke with all the heads of the communities. It can be said that at that meeting there was full understanding, responsiveness and wall-to-wall listening. We sat in my office with representatives of the government ministries, and talked to them about their commitment not to join ISIS-Hamas, to understand that this is a different event and that they must not tarnish Bedouin society and identify with ISIS.
"There was excellent dialogue, excellent attention. I heard with my own ears the words of the heads of the local authorities, who said that they are against and strengthen the police. They paid a heavy price, they also have fatalities."
There are weeds
However, weeds are also not lacking, every farmer in the envelope knows, and even though they are uprooted time and time again, they return again and again. A university student or an inciting sheikh, even though they are a minority, often destroys. We spoke about this issue with Sheikh Hassan Abu Ali from Rahat. "The enemy on the other side does not separate us. We live as citizens of the State of Israel, we are both here. There are the sides that are looking for weak points."
Sheikh Hassan Abu Ali, photo: None
But as in too many cases, here too there is disappointment on the part of the Bedouin. "I went all over the Negev, there are places where after ten days they didn't come close. There are murdered, kidnapped and missing. But it falls on everyone," Abu Ali adds.
"The majority counts"
Regarding those weeds, Abu Ali says: "If there are one or two problematic ones, they have no ability to do anything. The majority, I say to my delight, identifies with the State of Israel and recognizes the State of Israel. A few other sheikhs and I walked around Ofakim under fire and distributed food, Jews and Arabs, together.
"The two children who perished near Kseife are the sons of my sister-in-law, another murdered in Ofakim is my brother-in-law's brother-in-law.
"Don't forget that there are families on the other side (Gaza) and it's hard to separate, but I want to tell you – it's good that a neighbor is closer than a distant brother."
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