Many SHATIL staff spent July 17th and 18th participating in a Knesset discussion that was dedicated to several of the organization's longstanding concerns: the plight of the unrecognized Bedouin villages, the state of Arab education in the Negev and the environmental emergencies facing all of Israel.

As we reported last week, a one-year moratorium has been proposed on Bedouin home demolitions. Six months ago, the government established a public commission to examine the plight of the 122,000 Bedouin citizens of Israel living in unrecognized villages without infrastructure and services, and to formulate guidelines for resolving the land issues. The commission is charged with assembling all land claims and complaints and will recommend solutions after discussions with Bedouin representatives. The government also decided to create a new authority under the Minister of Housing to deal with Bedouin settlement in the Negev. Four of the authority's 22 council members will be Negev Bedouin.

SHATIL staff is helping the Council of Unrecognized Villages and other Bedouin social organizations evaluate the ramifications of the government decisions, and find ways to influence the makeup and agenda of the new institutions.

A special meeting of the Knesset Education Committee tackled the issue of substandard education for Negev Bedouin children. Dr. Abu Freah, head of SHATIL's Forum for Arab Education in the Negev, made a presentation to the Committee in which he cited statistics on Bedouin education. In the past six years, there has been no increase -- and actually a decrease of one percent -- in the number of Bedouin 17-year-olds who are entitled to full matriculation certificates (only 27.9%). Standardized tests also reveal shocking gaps: While the average score for Jewish children in math is 70, for Bedouins it is 37; in English it is 79 for Jews compared with 45 for Bedouins. Freah urged the Committee to end policies of discrimination in education.

The day before, on July 17th, SHATIL clients Friends of the Earth and the Israel Union for Environmental Defense led Knesset committee discussions focusing on global warming. The Knesset passed a law obligating regional councils to create environmental units. SHATIL staff helped environmental lobby head MK Dov Hanin in preparations for the day.