Transitions

Russians, Ethiopians, and Bedouins in Israel’s Negev Desert

This title was first published in 2000: Comprising over one-third of the land area of Israel, the Negev is home to more than 400,000 residents representing one of the most unusual ethnic mixes in the world. Immigrants from many regions and countries: North Africa, Ethiopia, the Middle East, India, Europe, North and South America, and the Republics of the former Soviet Union, now reside in the Negev along with indigenous Bedouin Arabs and Jews born in Israel. Transitions is a dedication to the Negev people, brought together by Richard Isralowitz of Ben Gurion University, Israel and Jonathan Friedlander of the University of California, Los Angeles. It documents a year in the lives of three groups of people through carefully selected and expertly written chapters contributed by Israeli scholars familiar with issues of immigration and immigrant absorption, regional development, health, education, as well as racial and ethnic conflict concerning Russian, Ethiopian and Bedouin people of Israel’s arid southern region. The chapters are juxtaposed with the vivid and provocative colour and black and white images of photographer Ron Kelley who focuses on the process of assimilation, within the broader context of Israeli society, revealing complications of nationalism, ethnic rivalries and competition over limited resources, amidst a prevailing concern for national security. Prepared with support from the US/Israel Binational Education Foundation (Fulbright Scholars Program) and the Israel Council of Higher Education, Transitions is an extraordinary and unique study of people, their environment and interaction.