Liza Levko Blog 2

On our trip to the South we went to the Bedouin town of Rahat. This is the largest Bedouin town in Israel and arguably the world. Every time I have been in Israel I have gone to the tourist Bedouin tent in the desert where we do the traditional things Bedouins do…drink tea, ride camels, and eat the traditional Bedouin meals. Obviously this is an over simplified view of the Bedouin Israeli experience. Going to Rahat showed me how they have truly adapted to Israeli society and modernity. The family we talked with chose to settle and built one of the first homes in Rahat. I think there experience with the Israeli government is much different from the norm because they have successfully made the change to modernity. Wafa, the woman who we talked with and visited her family, although very integrated in modern Israeli society still feel extremely conflicted as to what her identity is in Israeli society. She doesn’t know what to tell people when they ask “What is your ethnic background?” She wants to say she is Palestinian because her family was here during the mandate, but doesn’t want people to think she is one of the radicals trying to take down the state of Israel. She tells people she is Arab and they run the other way. So then she resorts to showing her passport which is Israeli, but people don’t believe her because she is Bedouin. Being a minority in an already complex country is interesting to see. Her family is well off compared to other Bedouins which makes their identity struggle complex because they have received the benefits of being on the side of the government while others like them have not and are devastated by the outcome. Wafa’s father said “We were once all Palestinians and now we are all Israelis.” Maybe he has a point you just need to make the best out of the cards you are dealt.