In May 2015, the Israeli Supreme Court approved the state's plan to evict 700 Palestinian citizens of Israel from the unrecognized Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran in the Naqab/Negev desert. Why? So that the state can settle an Israeli Jewish community in their place. Recent demolitions and a police killing of a resident have given more urgency and need for your support. As the main legal organization leading the village's struggle, we call on you to help us halt the destruction of Umm al-Hiran.
The Supreme Court's decision to evict Umm al-Hiran's residents allows for the razing of an Arab Palestinian village in order to establish a Jewish one. This sets a very dangerous precedent for the 80,000 that live in the 36 Arab Bedouin unrecognized villages. Umm al-Hiran's residents were moved here by the state in 1956 after their ancestral village of Khirbet Zubaleh was destroyed in 1948. Umm al-Hiran is home, where residents grew up, formed memories & dreamed futures; now all risk destruction
Hand in hand with the villagers of Umm al-Hiran we've identified solutions. Litigation: motions to freeze and cancel demolition orders in Umm al-Hiran; Mobilizing the public by engaging key media outlets to ensure wide coverage in 3 languages; field visits, study tours for diplomats, HR activists, and scholars for villagers to address influential stakeholders; Online and within-the-community campaigning with public advocacy tools; Targeted advocacy at the UN, EU, and awareness-raising in the US.
With this campaign, we strengthen the collective efforts to prevent the destruction of the Bedouin community's homes and livelihoods. The long-term impact will bear positively for the 80,000 Palestinian Bedouin living in unrecognized villages in the Naqab. The change will be far-reaching and precedent-setting if we achieve victories in the courts, and by working hand in hand with the community as we have for 13 years, we will ensure that change will be sustainable.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
