tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6358737.post-45692717499274073282007-11-25T02:21:00.000-08:002007-11-25T02:21:00.000-08:002007-11-25T02:21:00.000-08:00This time with working URLs :)<BR/><BR/>This is a great article, relatively speaking. Naturally, the Israelis are still the occupying, polluting, unjust monolith of Arab dreams - tugging the heartstrings of most major constituencies reading this blog.<BR/><BR/>Yet, as reality spurns the chains of prejudice, a ray of grey complexity peeks through. Report, Emily! Report.<BR/><BR/>The Bedouin situation in Israel is unique, to say the least. Many Israeli teens participate in <A HREF="http://www.israel21c.org/bin/en.jsp?enDisplay=view&enDispWhat=object&enZone=Democracy&enDispWho=Articles%5El397&enPage=BlankPage" REL="nofollow">service projects</A> in Bedouin villages, helping with education, digging canals for farming, and probably smoking more than tobacco in their hookahs.<BR/><BR/>If you think pollution is bad in Israel now, you should have witnessed it forty years ago. The <A HREF="http://www.jnf.org" REL="nofollow">Jewish National Fund</A> has spent hundreds of millions cleaning up rivers, oil and chemical spills, draining diseased swamps... the list goes on and on. To donate, <A HREF="https://secure2.convio.net/jnf/site/Donation2?df_id=1280&1280.donation=form1&JServSessionIdr012=2d5q4x26t1.app23a" REL="nofollow">click here</A> :)<BR/><BR/>Their new <A HREF="http://www.jnf.org/site/PageServer?pagename=negevIndex" REL="nofollow">Blueprint Negev</A> is an ambitious multi-decade vision to settle and green the desert.<BR/><BR/>From what I've seen, Israelis, by and large, are not very ecofriendly. They can be standing right next to a trash can and throw a candy bar wrapper on the street. It pissed me off more than once.<BR/><BR/>There is a common sentiment among Ashkenazi Jews (Eastern Europe) that trash on the streets is the fault of Sephardic Jews (from Arab countries). Take that for what it's worth.<BR/><BR/>I remember the same mindset in the former Soviet Union. Environmentalism requires a shift in culture. As more American Jews move to Israel, I think this shift is occurring - Americans demand clean streets.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, regarding the Bedouin, here is a fairly comprehensive summary of Israeli government activity in this area, which are extensive and growing:<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/mfaarchive/1990_1999/1999/7/the%20bedouin%20in%20israel" REL="nofollow">The Bedouin in Israel</A>Victorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05008730229882004376noreply@blogger.com