Bedouin

Dry earth, still landscapes – the Negev desert in Israel is home to more than two hundred thousand Bedouins. Life there is like a tinder box: razed houses, poor education, fixed traditions, and one of the highest birth rates in the world. In recent years the Bedouin’s political and social situation in Israel has worsened considerably. Around half of them live in “unrecognized villages,” in very simple housing without electricity or running water, on the land of their grandfathers and great-grandfathers. The unresolved issue of who owns the land and who may build on it, as well as the resulting destruction of homes, create a hotbed for radical ideology and religious fanatics – a problem whose magnitude is known to few, even in Israel. A profound, independent view of this world can be seen in Stefan Loeber’s photographs in this book.