Research Information System
in: Nomadic Societies in the Middle East and North Africa: Entering the 21st Century,, Dawn Chatty, Editor, Brill, Leiden , Leiden, pp.865-882, 2006
This essay I describe the development of education among the Bedouin tribes of the Negev during the 20th century: looking at the last period of Ottoman rule, the British Mandate in Palestine, and the period since establishment of the Israel state (1948 to present). This essay is based on primary and secondary sources, interviews with tribal leaders and scribes, key people who were students during the British Mandate; teachers and headmasters, notables and shaykhs of the Bedouin tribes in Israel and a review of archival and docu- mentary materials, published and unpublished materials, scientific journals and books .Most of the school curriculum, which is set by the Ministry of Education, is not relevant to the cultural background of Arab students, let alone Bedouin. The greater emphasis on Hebrew and Zionist studies rather than on Arabic language, culture, heritage and history diminishes the sense of Arab identity, and alienates Arab students. Little attention is paid to Arab culture, especially its contemporary political concerns with Palestinian history and the Middle East conflict in general