US embassy cable - 05TELAVIV4538

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 004538 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/21/2015 
TAGS: ECON, PGOV, PREL, IS, ISRAELI SOCIETY 
SUBJECT: ISRAELI ARABS: GOI NOT AT FAULT FOR ALL PROBLEMS 
 
REF: TEL AVIV 4066 
 
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Gene A. Cretz for reasons 1.4 (b 
) and (d). 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY:  Leaders in Israel's Bedouin and Israeli-Arab 
communities acknowledge that not all of their problems can 
blamed on government policies and programs.  Leadership and 
good governance are needed within these communities if they 
are to overcome current and future challenges.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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A DAY WITH THE BEDOUIN 
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2. (C) Econoff toured Bedouin villages, a Bedouin high 
school, a Bedouin women's association and three mosques under 
threat of demolition by the GOI on July 13.  This visit and 
subsequent discussions with Israeli-Arab activists from the 
Negev and Galilee shed light on the growing problems in these 
regions, which Bedouin and Israeli-Arab representatives said 
are attributable in no small part to corruption, lack of 
leadership and "internal oppression." 
 
3. (C) Faisal Sawalha of the Regional Council for the Arab 
Unrecognized Villages in the Negev accompanied econoff on a 
tour of five Bedouin villages.  Sawalha said there are many 
problems in the Bedouin community and that the GOI cannot be 
blamed for all of them.  He said the dismal education system 
is one such problem, a failure on the part of the Bedouin. 
 
4. (C) In Rahat, a recognized Bedouin village, econoff 
visited the Al-Noor high school, which serves 700 students in 
grades nine through twelve.  The school is operated by 45 
Israeli-Arab teachers.  Sawalha said most of the students do 
not pass national exams such as the "Bagrut."  He said only 
40 percent of seniors pass the high school exit exam, a 
generous figure which does not reflect the reality that only 
ten percent of those students make it to university and only 
two or three percent earn a degree, he said. 
 
5. (C) Sawalha touched on the quality of teachers and 
administrators, pointing to a lack of qualifications and 
favoritism.  He said certain positions in the Bedouin school 
system are filled with individuals who do not deserve them. 
The deputy principal at Rahat was hired in this way, said 
Sawalha, noting that the deputy principal only had a high 
school diploma.  Sawalha said "we must hold ourselves 
accountable" and not blame the GOI for all Bedouin ailments. 
 
6. (C) Leaving Rahat, Sawalha and econoff visited three 
unrecognized Bedouin villages, Al-Dhiyya, Um Al-Hiran, and 
Tel Al-Maleh.  Sawalha showed three mosques that are under 
the threat of demolition (reftel).  He said the GOI must 
respect the Bedouin because they are a part of Israeli 
society.  Sawalha said demolition orders for the mosques 
still stand. 
 
7. (U) Econoff ended his visit in the village of Lakia, where 
Naama Elsanna, one of the seven managers who operate the 
Association for Improvement of Women's Status, talked about 
the association, which was founded in 1992.  She said 165 
Bedouin women work at the center to improve the status and 
living conditions of Bedouin women.  Several core projects 
were initiated to provide income and support: the Desert 
Embroidery project, created to provide income; an adult 
education program, designed to increase literacy; a 
kindergarten facility established to support working women; 
and ,finally, a mobile library allocated to improve 
children's education. 
 
8. (C) Elsanna told econoff that a recent arson attack that 
nearly destroyed the embroidery shop was committed by Bedouin 
men who felt threatened by progress and unable to handle the 
success of the Bedouin women.  She said "jealousy" drove them 
to set fire to the shop, which the association has repaired. 
 
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Allegations of Corruption 
------------------------- 
 
9. (C) Iyad Rabi, General Director of the Ahali Center for 
Community Development in the Galilee, met with econoff on 
July 14.  Rabi said there are Israeli Arabs who work with the 
GOI against the Israeli-Arab community.  These individuals 
want power, money and an opportunity for self benefit, not 
thinking about what they are doing to their own people, Rabi 
said.  The GOI offers incentives for cooperation, which range 
from election support to certain business deals, said Rabi. 
He said that a climate of greed benefits only a few, 
primarily those who cooperate with the GOI, and this is the 
problem in the Galilee. 
 
10. (C) Commenting on accountability, Rabi said there should 
be reporting requirements for Israeli-Arab community leaders 
and the GOI detailing of community expenditures.  He said 
that there were budgetary problems in some local 
municipalities in the Galilee because certain elected 
officials regularly misuse public funds.  Rabi said officials 
channel money towards businesses or organizations that will 
in turn provide political support. 
 
11. (C) Rabi said NGO objectives and success can be measured 
by how they address community needs.  Many NGO's are not 
helping the Israeli-Arab communities because they are 
focusing on their own agenda and budgetary requirements.  He 
said some have turned NGO's into a money-making venture that 
guarantees them a steady salary. 
 
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