beer sheva

A meeting at the Negev Coexistence Forum. (Negev Coexistence Forum)

In Be’er Sheva, coexistence is ‘political,’ and can get you evicted

The Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Quality has been a fixture in the city of Be’er Sheva for decades. Now, following pressure from far-right activists, the city is evicting it. By Yehudit Keshet The city of Be’er Sheva is trying to evict the Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality, the only place where Jews and…

By +972 Magazine January 8, 2018

Members of the Israeli and international gay community participate the annual pride parade in Tel Aviv, June 7, 2013. (Gili Yaari/Flash90)

Overcoming bigotry, Be’er Sheva to hold first pride march

A year after the Be’er Sheva march was cancelled following threats by extremists, the LGBTQ community in the city wins its greatest victory to date. By Daniel Beller A year after it was cancelled by the municipality, the southern city of Be’er Sheva will hold its first ever pride parade this coming Thursday. Last year’s cancellation came after…

By +972 Magazine June 19, 2017

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, June 1, 2011. (Dr. Avishai Teicher/CC 2.5)

Creeping censorship in a southern Israeli town

Verbal attacks by right-wing groups and politicians in Be’er Sheva are threatening both NGOs and the local university. By Daniel Beller Over the past year various entities, including right-wing movements, have been trying to close down a joint Jewish-Arab cultural institution in the southern Israeli town of Be’er Sheva. The Multaqa-Mifgash Center, founded by the…

By +972 Magazine May 31, 2017

Latest

A child rides a bicycle next to a mosque in the Bedouin village of Bir-Hadaj, Negev Desert, April 27, 2014.
Bir-Hadaj is a recognized Bedouin village in Israel since 1999 and its urban plan was approved in 2003. Nevertheless the village still lack of basic infrastructure and its inhabitants are frequently face demolition orders and harsh treatment by the police.

Israel strands Bedouin in their own village

The sudden and unannounced removal of a Bedouin village’s only bus stop, by Israel’s Transport Ministry, has placed the community under de facto closure. By John Brown* The residents of Umm Batin, a Bedouin village in the south of Israel, were surprised to discover at the beginning of December that the bus stop they use…

By +972 Magazine December 14, 2016

A Dan bus in Be'er Sheva, which includes station names in both Hebrew and Arabic.

Following complaints, bus company halts Arabic-language announcements

Residents of Be’er Sheva were enraged to find out that a new bus company had announcements in both Hebrew and Arabic. After numerous complaints, the Arabic announcements came to an end. By John Brown* An Israeli bus company in the southern city of Be’er Sheva stopped activating its Arabic-language announcement system last week, following complaints…

By +972 Magazine November 29, 2016

Asylum seekers from Holot play soccer with Israeli students in Be'er Sheva. (Social TV)

WATCH: Israeli students stage soccer tournament for refugees

Israel is imprisoning thousands of African asylum seekers in a desert detention facility called ‘Holot.’ A group of students and youngsters from Be’er Sheva, in southern Israel, recently organized a soccer tournament with the asylum seekers in an attempt to make them feel less isolated. Israeli authorities systematically deny the Sudanese and Eritrean asylum seekers…

By Social TV February 14, 2016

Right-wing activists shout at Palestinian activists, during a protest for the release of Palestinian Mohammed Allan, who is held by Israel without trial and who has slipped into a coma after a nearly two-month hunger strike, in the city of Ashkelon, August 16, 2015. Police prevented from Palestinian and Israeli activists to arrive to the hospital in which Allan is held, arresting eight activists, using pepper spray and skunk water canon. (photos: Keren Manor / Activestills.org)

Court shuts down left-wing lecture following threats of violence

‘Breaking the Silence’ planned to hold a speaking event at a local pub in Be’er Sheva. The police shut it down after it could not ensure the safety of the participants. By John Brown* A Be’er Sheva court barred a local pub from hosting an event put on by “Breaking the Silence” following threats by right-wing activists.…

By +972 Magazine November 25, 2015

Israeli Police arrest a protester outside the village of Hura in the Negev, where a large demonstration took place against the Prawer Plan, November 30, 2013. The Prawer Plan, if implemented, will displace tens of thousands of Bedouin citizens of Israel. (Photo: Activestills.org)

Shin Bet threatens Bedouin activist, offers money to prevent protests

Agents of Israel’s security services raid the homes of several young Bedouin activists, summon them for ‘friendly chats’ and attempt to coax them into suppressing protests they claim undermine the ‘fundamental principles of the state.’ By John Brown* It’s Tuesday, just after midnight in the Bedouin town of Lakia in the Negev Desert. Black jeeps…

By +972 Magazine November 3, 2015

Channel 2 interview of Gary, an Eritrean man, at the scene where his friend Habtom Zerhom was killed by a mob of Israelis after a terror attack.

Eritrean man’s ‘lynch’ highlights failings of the Israeli press

The Israeli media shares some responsibility for the hysteria on the streets and the phenomenon of ‘accidental’ attacks against Jews, Palestinians, and now Eritreans. By Hagar Shezaf Habtom Zerhom, an Eritrean asylum seeker, was shot by security forces and then lynched by Israelis in Beer Sheva’s bus station after being mistakenly identified as a terrorist…

By +972 Magazine October 20, 2015

Habtom Zarhum

The ‘lynching’ of Habtom Zarhum: A history of incitement

Activists, asylum seekers and refugee advocates in Israel are pointing to the incitement directed toward African asylum seekers — by politicians, state institutions and the media — as necessary context for the vigilante mob and shooting that killed an Eritrean asylum seeker. An Eritrean asylum seeker was mistaken for a Palestinian during a shooting attack at…

By Mya Guarnieri Jaradat October 20, 2015

Negev Bedouin speak during Zochrot's Public Truth Commission about the expulsion of the Bedouin residents of the Negev during the 1948 war, Be'er Sheva, December 10, 2014. (photo: Ahmad al-Bazz)

‘Truth commission’ uncovers the history of Bedouin dispossession

An informal ‘Public Truth Commission’ set out to find exactly what happened to the Negev Bedouin between 1948 and 1960. While Bedouin witnesses told stories of massacres, rape and expulsions, former Israeli soldiers said they were just following orders. By Tom Pessah I identify as straight, so I cannot claim to know how it feels…

By +972 Magazine December 14, 2014

Medics and soldiers bring an Israeli wounded by rocket fire to Soroka Hospital, Be'er Sheva. (photo: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Who will care about Israel’s south when the rockets stop flying?

Ever since the beginning of the war, jobs have evaporated in Be’er Sheva. Those who could afford to have left the city. And the worst part? The moment the rockets stop, the journalists and commentators will pack up their things and leave. Then what? By Daniel Beller I can’t stand seeing cynical politicians, those with…

By +972 Magazine August 15, 2014

A tunnel in Gaza (Marius Arnesen, Flickr)

From Iran to the tunnels: Do we really have to live this way?

Those who spot an existential threat at every turn, turn their backs on diplomacy and mock peace efforts are now astonished to find that the enemy has sought out their own weapons of attack. The tunnels are a self-fulfilling prophecy; the time has come to look for another way. By Nir Baram It is heartrending…

By +972 Magazine August 2, 2014