Evangelical TV channel turns the Negev into a forest and removes the Bedouin from Al-Arakib - Ha'aretz

Christian network `God TV` announces a planting project in cooperation with the Jewish National Fund. Villagers claim it is an effort to remove them.

`The Lord gave me instructions: `prepare the ground for the return of my children’. I asked: ‘Father, how do we do it?’ And the Lord answered ’plant a million trees.’ I believe this is what I heard, the spirit of God and I share this mission with you.” Rory Alec’s voice is excited and laden with pathos when he describes what led him to initiate the largest tree planting project, spearheaded by the `God TV` network, throughout Israel.

Alec is the driving force behind the thriving Evangelical network. The network carries out tree planting in cooperation with the Israeli branch of the Jewish National Fund and its US counterpart. The afforestation project is part of a broad plan encompassing large tracts of the northern Negev. It is not, strictly speaking, afforestation in the usual sense of the word, but more like “savannahfication” – the planting of trees and shrubs that would create the appearance of a savannah. The benefits of doing it this way, according to the JNF, include soil improvement and the prevention of erosion. However, the Israel Lands Administration and Agriculture Minister Shalom Simhon, have admitted that one of the aims of the project is the taking possession of the land - that is, asserting ownership in order to keep the Bedouin out.

Some of the areas included in the project are near the Bedouin village of Al- Arakib, which was destroyed yesterday for the 16th time in eight months [Actually six and a half months–tr.] Israel Lands Administration (ILA) inspectors accompanied by police units came to the village to continue the forestation work, after the Beer Sheva Court ruled that work may continue taking place. There were confrontations when the residents started hurling stones at them and the police responded by firing tear gas. Six of the villagers - four women and two children - were injured and were evacuated to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba. Three people were arrested. Haaretz has learnt that the village activists intend to stay over the weekend in situ to rebuild the encampments that were destroyed.

The JNF and the Israel Lands Administration insist that the forest, dubbed `God TV Forest` is not being planted on the ruins of the village. But the proximity to the village’s land has prompted a torrent of rage from the residents and the left-wing activists who have been supporting them. The Bedouins argue that the afforestation project in the northern Negev aims to goad them away from what they perceive as their traditional land. `The JNF, the most Jewish of Jewish bodies, of which my parents my grandparents were proud partners, has changed its skin and now collaborates with the most fundamentalist organisation for which we are the Messiah’s donkey,` says Professor Oren Yiftachel. The professor, a resident of the Negev and chairperson of B’Tselem, has been assisting the residents of Al - Arakib in their struggle with the state authorities against their homes’ demolitions.

Channel `God TV` was established in England in 1995 and was first of its type in Europe. Since then, “by the grace of God through miracles,` as its founders put it, the channel has expanded its activities to become an empire. “God TV transmits to almost every country around the globe with operations in the US, Europe, China, India, Australia and Africa. The channel’s 24-hours a day programs feature thunderous preachers who beat the foreheads of the faithful, wailing worshipers groups, animated calls for sexual purity among the young and kitschy missionary songs. The religious content is nicely packaged with rhythms and clips reminiscent of the source of inspiration - music channel MTV. The channel leads many social activities becoming a partner in various humanitarian ventures, particularly in Africa. In 2002, the channel revolutionised its image when it moved its offices and main base to Jerusalem, and now it brands itself as an enthusiastic supporter of Israel.

The planting project is one of its flagship ventures, the stated purpose of which is to prepare the country for the return of `Lord of lords, King of Kings,` as specified on its dedicated website. The site provides a facility to contribute to tree planting in the amount of US$25 or 20 Euros (about 90 to 100 shekels.) Incidentally it is possible to have the same tree planted by contributing a mere 32 shekels to the JNF. Considering the avowed desire to plant over a million trees, the discrepancy in price provides a measure of the financial clout of the organisation which provides it with a sound base.

Until about a fortnight ago a large outdoor board stood not far from Al-Arakib announcing the joint project of the TV channel and the JNF. The villagers see afforestation activities as part and parcel of the campaign against them. “These trees are the soldiers who came to occupy our land. These are political trees,” said Awad Abu Farih, a spokesperson for the residents of Al-Arakib. In contrast to the JNF and the ILA Administration, the villagers do not see any difference between the planting of the forest and the work that is being carried at the site of the village’s ruins. “These are exactly the same operations, they think that if there were trees here, then there would be no Bedouins here,` added Abu Farih.

God’s TV are aware of the criticism and are wary of it. The channel placed a note on its website stating: “God TV is in no way involved in any ongoing legal proceedings between the Israeli Government and the village of Al-Arakib. God TV has committed to sponsor one million trees, to be planted through the efforts of the Jewish National Fund, throughout Israel in an effort to restore the desert places to the lush green land it once was, preparing the Holy Land for the return of the King of Kings. God TV is not responsible for, or involved in, the decision as to the specific places trees are planted across the country.”

The JNF rejects the Bedouin claims, stating that the JNF is diligent in ensuring that no planting takes place anywhere outside state land. It says that the practice is adhered to in Al-Arakib. They stress that they cannot reject donations on the grounds of the identity of the donors. They add that any planting financed by donation takes place only in areas designated for the purpose in the national afforestation master plan. Therefore, the goal is afforestation and not the removal of the Bedouin. The JNF spokesperson said that 'The JNF plants trees all over the state of Israel, which is its role. However, any requests for planting are only acted upon once the JNF has verified that the proposed area is indeed legally state land. '

The Israel Lands Administration said that the JNF is only carrying out the work in Al-Arakib as a subcontractor, and that it was selected for the purpose because of its expertise in forestry work. As we go to press no response has been received from God’s TV.

By Nir Hasson, Haaretz, 11.2.11
Jackie Khoury and Yanir Yagna also contributed to this report
Reprinted from Occupation Magazine

Seeing the Unseen: The Forgotten Palestinian-Israeli Problem, by Devorah Brous - Jerusalem Report, Jan. 3, 2011

To view the article in PDF as it appears in the Jerusalem Report, please click here.

In late November, for the seventh time in the last five months, Israeli authorities razed the “unrecognized” Bedouin village of Al-Arakib in the Negev, evicting 300 Israeli citizens from their homes. And for the seventh time the residents began to rebuild in a Sisyphean struggle with the Jewish state.

Even before the desert dust had settled, two major Jewish National Fund (JNF) projects were almost completed in the immediate vicinity of the village. Funded by Evangelical Christian Zionists from the “Land of Promise” and “GOD-TV” “to invite the Second Coming of Christ,” half of a new one million tree "GOD-TV Forest" already extends in a vast swath near Al-Arakib. And the Israel Antiquities Authority auspiciously uncovered the ruins of a 6th century Byzantine church at the entrance to the brand new JNF settlement of Givot Bar next to Al-Arakib.

Both JNF projects highlight a familiar cycle: Arab land is expropriated, cleared and re-zoned for State use to prevent Arabs from returning. Despite national master plans designed to keep development accountable, there is no effective process in place that enables full democratic participation of all interested stakeholders in decisions on future building and planting schemes in the Negev.

For example, to the surprise and chagrin of watchdogs on the ground, Bedouin wheat and lentil fields were uprooted by the State over a five-year period to establish Givot Bar. Then the GOD-TV forest sprouted out of nowhere and now church excavations have begun without any public scrutiny. The Israel Lands Administration offered Al Arakib villagers a very low rate to rent ‘agricultural land’ from the State. Since development on such land is prohibited, Bedouin would be legally barred from building homes there, so they refused the offer. Beyond pragmatic concerns, it’s a matter of principle: Why should they rent what they have long tended, grazed and believe they already own?

Most people are largely unaware of the non-violent struggle waged by some 74,000 Bedouin citizens of Israel’s “unrecognized villages.” These villagers are resisting Israel's attempts to relocate them in government-built and Arab-only “recognized cities” where roughly 96,000 landless Bedouin have moved. Though these cities boast better government services than the unrecognized villages, they suffer from years of state underfunding and consistently report the country's highest rates of unemployment and crime. Furthermore, they have proven not only inhospitable but destructive to an ancient Bedouin culture of dry lands farming and animal husbandry.

Bedouin in the “unrecognized villages” argue their land tenure cases vociferously in court and resist pressure to sign statements barring them from their lands. They choose to remain in tin shanties or cement block homes without electricity, sewage systems or running water, with one clear aim: to hold onto their village grounds. They challenge the discriminatory institutional, zoning and legal mechanisms used to deny building permits and keep Arab villages outside the state's planning frameworks.

Appeals to have their land rights recognized are doomed from the outset. Since the Knesset has passed laws enabling Bedouin acreage to be declared "state land," land claims are systematically denied under jurisprudence with a built-in bias. Deemed "illegal squatters" lacking land title, Bedouin are seen as "serial invaders" who "infiltrate and seize state land." Most recently, Israel’s parliament approved on preliminary reading a bill proposed by Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beitenu party that would require owners of “illegal construction” to pay for the demolition of their homes. Far from serving justice, the law has become the hand-maiden of Jewish ultra-nationalism.

Despite fierce criticism by environmentalists and civil rights advocates, the JNF is working to entice an additional 250,000 Jews to settle in newly built desert neighborhoods like Givot Bar. Their ambitious “Blueprint Negev” plan is bankrolled by private American charitable support, unleashing a “new Zionism” that heeds David Ben Gurion’s clarion call to settle the Negev.

Such development is sold as “progress.” Yet many donors remain unaware that planting Bar and Bat Mitzvah trees in the “barren desert” is not mere tzedekah (charity), but a political act that deepens the Jewish/Arab conflict over land and resources. What could have been a noble pursuit is, in actual fact, discriminatory development designed to corral Bedouin into ever more constricted tracts of land in order to reclaim Arab-held territory for Jewish or Evangelical Zionist use.

JNF claims that tree planting is a shared national symbol that benefits Jews and Arabs. But it is also an invisible agent of conquest. Within no time, trees will effectively conceal evidence of the former inhabitants of Al-Arakib and the Negev Arab land rights struggle will remain unseen.

The first step in truly transforming the Blueprint of the Negev is to stop the nearly 200 Bedouin home demolitions a year, which the Netanyahu government has promised to triple. The second step requires seeing the forest through the trees. The JNF and government bodies must work with local communities to develop Israel’s Negev in a way that is equitable, sustainable and culturally appropriate for the region’s diverse inhabitants, including the Negev Bedouin, Israel’s most disenfranchised minority.

Devorah Brous, the founder of "Bustan," a Jewish/Bedouin environmental justice NGO in the Negev, is now based in Los Angeles, where she serves as co-director of the Campaign for Bedouin-Jewish Justice in Israel, a project of Rabbis for Human Rights-North America and the Jewish Alliance for Change (www.bedouinjewishjustice.blogspot.com).

Bedouin tribes' land fears over God-TV's tree planting, by Jonathan Cook - The National

NAZARETH, ISRAEL - Half a million trees planted during the past 18 months on the ancestral lands of Bedouin tribes in Israel's Negev region were bought by a controversial Christian evangelical television channel that calls itself God-TV, US tax records show.

A sign posted a few kilometres north of Beersheba, the Negev's main city, announces plans to plant a total of a million trees over a large area of desert that has already been designated "God-TV Forest".

The Jewish National Fund, an international non-profit organisation in charge of forestation and developing Jewish settlements in Israel, received US$500,000 (Dh1.8m) from God-TV to plant some of the trees, according to the channel's filings to US tax authorities last year.

A coalition of Jewish and Bedouin human rights groups have denounced the project, accusing God-TV and the JNF of teaming up to force the Bedouin out of the area to make way for Jewish-only communities.

"The JNF, instead of promoting civic equality for all Israelis - the basis for trust and peaceful co-existence - is now supporting (and being supported by) an evangelical ministry that wishes to utilise Israel and the planting of trees to bring about the Second Coming of Christ," the coalition said in a statement.

"The Israel of the JNF, the Israel Land Administration and the Israeli Government is one where Bedouin Arabs are displaced and discriminated against so that forests funded by Jews and evangelical Christians and exclusively Jewish communities can be built, preventing Bedouin Israelis from ever returning to their land, forcing them to live in poverty and neglect."

No one from God-TV was available for comment, but in a video posted on its website, Rory Alec, the channel's co-founder, said he had begun fundraising for the forest after receiving "an instruction from God" a few years ago. He said God had told him: "Prepare the land for the return of my Son."

Standing next to the "God-TV Forest" sign, Mr Alec thanked thousands of viewers for making donations to "sow a seed for God", adding: "I tell you Jesus is coming back soon!"
Part of the forest has been planted on land claimed by the Aturi tribe, whose village, al-Araqib, is nearby.

Al-Araqib has been demolished seven times [sic: eight times] in recent months by the Israeli police as officials increase the pressure on the 350 inhabitants to move to Rahat, an under-funded, government-planned township nearby.

Earlier this year, Joe Stork, the deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East and North Africa division, criticised the repeated attempts by Israeli authorities to eradicate the village and displace its residents.

"Tearing down an entire village and leaving its inhabitants homeless without exhausting all other options for settling long-standing land claims is outrageous," he said.

Human Rights Watch and other international human rights groups have criticised Israel for harsh measures taken against the people of al-Araqib and the other 90,000 Bedouin who live in Negev villages that the Israel refuses to recognise. They accuse the government of trying to pre-empt a court case moving through Israeli courts aimed at settling the Bedouin ownership claims.
God-TV's involvement in the dispute has prompted fresh concern.

Neve Gordon, a politics professor at Ben Gurion University in Beersheba, said the JNF, which has semi-governmental status in Israel, had set a "dangerous precedent" in accepting money from God-TV.

"The Israeli authorities are playing with fire," he said. "This dispute between the Israeli government and the Bedouin is a long one that until now focused on the question of land rights. But the involvement of extremist Christian groups like God-TV is likely to turn this into a religious confrontation, and that will be much harder to resolve."

The JNF declined to respond to questions from The National about its involvement with God-TV or the Negev forest.

Mr Gordon said it was particularly worrying that Mr Alec was using the language of Biblical prophecy in justifying his decision to finance the forest.

The channel, which has become one of the most popular global evangelical stations since its founding in Britain 15 years ago, claims an audience of up to a half-billion viewers, including 20 million in the United States.

Stephen Sizer, a British vicar and critic of Christian Zionist groups, described God-TV as part of an evangelical movement that believes Israel's establishment and expansion are bringing nearer the "end times" - or the moment when, according to Christians, Jesus will return for the second time.

He said the funding of Jewish immigration to Israel and the planting of trees is far from innocuous. Rather, he said, it is a way for Christian Zionist groups to support the Israeli right's hard-line policies aimed at dispossessing Palestinians of their land and replacing them with Jews, thus expediting Jesus's return.

Mr Sizer said there was increasing co-operation between Israeli institutions and Christian evangelical groups, which have begun basing their operations in Israel.
God-TV has proclaimed itself the only television channel to broadcast globally from Jerusalem, following its relocation there from the UK in 2007.

Rabbi Eric Yoffie, the head of the Union of Reform Judaism in the US, has repeatedly called on Israel to sever contacts with Christian Zionist and evangelical groups, describing them as opposed to "territorial compromise under any and all circumstances".

However, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, has sought out support from Christian evangelical groups such as Christians United for Israel (Cufi), according to Shalom Goldman, a professor at Atlanta's Emory University, who recently published a book on the Christian Zionist movement.

Haia Noach, the director of the Negev Coexistence Forum, which campaigns for Bedouin rights, said her organisation feared more of God-TV's trees would be planted on Bedouin lands in the coming weeks. A depot has recently been established close to al-Araqib to store four bulldozers.

"The villagers refuse to abandon al-Araqib, even though it has been destroyed seven times. But once a forest is planted there, there will be no chance to go back," she said.

She said she feared the goal was to build Jewish communities on Bedouin land. She cited the case of Givot Bar, which was secretly established by the government on part of al-Araqib's lands in 2003.

Repeated letters to the JNF for information about their forestation programme had gone unanswered, she said.

Awad Abu Freih, a community leader at al-Araqib, said the house demolitions and forest-planting were only the latest measures by the government to remove the villagers.

Repeated destruction of the al-Araqib's crops by spraying them with herbicides was ruled illegal by Israel's Supreme Court in 2004.

Efforts to move 90,000 Bedouin off their lands close to Beersheba have been intensifying since 2003, when the Israeli government announced plans to move them into a handful of townships.
The Bedouin have resisted, complaining that the official communities are little more than urban reservations that languish at the bottom of the country's social and economic tables.

Originally published in the National on Dec. 28, 2010

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