Agriculture Minister Yair Shamir
Photo: Alex Kolmonoski, Yedioth Aharonot
Israeli minister says Bedouin birthrate a problem
Agriculture minister, son of former prime minister, Yair Shamir who leads committee in charge of Bedouin issue make controversial remarks, saying in 2035 they will be half a million.
Agriculture Minister Yair Shamir (Yisrael Beiteinu) said that Israel must work to lower the birth rate of its Bedouin citizens and "take care of" the issue of polygamy prevalent in the community.
Shamir, who is the son of former prime minister Yitzhak Shamir, and heads the committee charged with dealing with Bedouin communities in the Negev – most of which are unrecognized villages with little to no access to basic facilities – made the comments when asked what could be done to bring the Bedouins closer to the rest of Israeli society.
Agriculture Minister Yair Shamir (Yisrael Beiteinu) (Photo: Alex Kolmonoski, Yedioth Aharonot)
During a tour of Israel's Negev region regional council, Shamir said "first of all we need to take all of the Bedouins and start moving them out of the (Negev) desert, and move them closer to the normal country in terms of legislation, life style, socio-economical level, education, job opportunities."
He continued, saying "maybe also dealing with polygamy , lowering the birth rate and rising the quality of life. Therefore we are currently focusing on economic solutions."
He noted that according to some estimates, by 2035 there will be over 1.5 million Bedouins in Israel, and said that country is blind to the issue.
He said that unlike his processor in the position – former Likud MK Benny Begin (also the son of a former prime minister) and his Praver plan to relocate the Bedouins – he is interested in a comprehensive socio-economical solution before dealing with the housing issue. He said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepts his position.
He claimed he was in "ongoing dialogue with Bedouin leadership," and said proof of that was "that they have stopped protesting. We are addressing their claims." After the Praver plan was authorized by the government, a large part of the Bedouin community took to the streets to protest what they described as a government attempt to expel them from their lands.
He further warned about growing relations between Bedouins and Palestinians in the West Bank, saying that over 1,500 Bedouins travel to study in Hebron daily and that every effort should be made to keep them within Israel proper.
