Building an Emergency Response Center Alongside Bedouin in the Negev

Photo Credit: Standing Together

On June 17, Shatil Be’er Sheva, NIF grantees AJEEC-NISPED and the Regional Council of the Unrecognized Villages (RCUV) established an Emergency Response Center to provide critical support to one of Israel’s most vulnerable populations: Arab-Bedouin living in unrecognized villages in the Negev. The center’s goal is to deliver rapid, coordinated responses to the needs of these groups.

Bedouin communities, especially in unrecognized villages, have long faced dire conditions and the wars with Gaza and then with Iran exacerbated them dramatically. These communities often lack shelters and basic emergency infrastructure; the population is profoundly exposed to aerial bombardment. Bedouin have been sleeping in tunnels and hiding under heavy equipment like bulldozers. This situation requires action that matches the complex reality they live in and addresses the long-standing gaps in public funding.

The Emergency Response Center is based on a model that successfully operated after October 7. Some 80 civil society organizations, both local and national, participated in its first convening. The center has already collected data, assessed the needs of these communities, and amassed a volunteer force to populate a series of “action teams”. These teams are now beginning to distribute food baskets; support people who are hospitalized (both bereaved and injured families) in their physical, mental and emotional needs; operate a hotline for individual and communal mental-health services; advocate for more protection, alerts, education, and health needs; and address formal, informal, and special needs in education. 

This past Tuesday, June 24, 2025, the first shelter was installed in a Arab-Bedouin village in the Negev. NIF grantee Standing Together visited the village of Hirbat El-Watan which had not a single private or public shelter, and alongside the community, they installed one. The shelter will save lives, and we are proud to be a part of this incredibly important work. 

Supporting and working with communities of Bedouin in the Negev is work that we at NIF have been doing for decades. These communities are steadfast, and growing more and more organized thanks to the help of NIF, Shatil in Be’er Sheva, and our grantees.