Oxfam and European Commission sponsor politicized Bimkom and ACRI conference on "Unrecognised Bedouin villages in Israel"
Oxfam GB and the European Commission sponsored a joint conference by Bimkom, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) and the Regional Council of Unrecognized Negev Arab Villages on March 12, 2007 entitled “Negev Arabs: Planning challenges and strategic actions[Translation] which examined the issue of the unrecognized Bedouin villages in the Negev. The conference advertised that it would “explain the State’s plans: those that ignore the Bedouins and those directed at the Bedouins” [Translation]. This conference reflects Oxfam and the EU’s continued distortion of the Bedouin issue, as a means to demonize Israel. Oxfam’s website features an article "Bedouin land under Israeli air attack," which interviews a Bedouin farmer while mentioning that "[c]onversation is punctuated by the sound of Israeli artillery fire from a nearby training ground, and overflying F-16 jets from a military airbase." No mention is made of the complex legal issues surrounding unrecognised villages, the active participatory role that many Bedouins play in Israeli life and the continued support for the State of Israel expressed by the Bedouin community.