מערכת החינוך הערבית-בדואית בנגב בראייה מקומית: מציאות וצרכים

The Bedouin Arabs of the Negev, who are part of the Palestinian-Arab minority in Israel, currently number about 300,000. The Negev Bedouin live in nine permanent authorities established by the state and a large number of villages that the state refuses to recognize. All the Bedouin localities in the Negev, without exception, suffer from a very low socioeconomic status, low level of development, significant lack of basic infrastructure, minimal level of services, high unemployment rates, and poverty. The state’s policy vis-à-vis the Bedouin population of the Negev has always been characterized by discrimination, inequality, and deprivation in all areas of life—land, housing, education, municipal development, budgets, and civil rights. This policy has radically changed the lives of the Bedouin Arabs of the Negev and made their traditional way of life almost impossible. There are vast social, economic, and political disparities between the Bedouin-Arab community and Israeli society, and these affect the education system, among other things.