ABSTRACT
On November 29, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly voted to partition Palestine into a Jewish and an Arab state. While the Jewish community agreed to the proposed partition and allocation of territory, the Palestinian Arabs did not, calling the UN declaration of the State of Israel “al-Nakba”, the catastrophe. This chapter discusses the role of the Jewish tradition in the ongoing tensions and violence in Israel’s conflict over territory as evidenced internally in the Negev concerning Bedouin land rights and externally with Palestinian territory. The conflict over Bedouin land is part of a wider government agenda to “Judaise” the Negev. The vision of Judaising the Negev to the extent planned has been greatly encouraged and supported in Haredi and Orthodox Jewish communities throughout Israel. The Negev Bedouin are considered by many Israelis as a barrier to realizing this vision.
