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Social revolution and the new Negev pioneers

The third anniversary of the social justice movement was marked in Sheizaf with great satisfaction: A young, flourishing community has been established in the Negev Desert and several education and development plans are in store.
A man walks near the village of al-Sira, one of dozens of ramshackle Bedouin Arab communities in the Negev desert which are not recognised by the Israeli state, in southern Israel August 20, 2013. For decades Arab Bedouins have eked out a meagre existence in the Negev desert, largely under the Israeli government's radar, but now many will have to make way for new developments. Israel has already invested around $5.6 billion to build military bases in the Negev desert and plans to build 10 new communities th
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Throughout Israel and around the world Jews have been building this week the traditional sukkah hut, honoring the Feast of Tabernacles. But in Tel Aviv there are still some families and individuals who live in huts and tents for several months on end and even up to three years, ever since the 2011 social justice protests. Those people have become almost transparent to the public around them.

Over the past few weeks, it seems as if the protest has been standing again at our doorstep. The campaign over the price of chocolate pudding snacks has stirred up a public debate over the legitimacy of leaving the country — for the sake of life in places where the cost of living is lower. In a special festive interview on the eve of the Jewish Sukkot holiday, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said, ''We have failed in whatever concerns housing prices and cost of living, and we, the government, must deal with that.'' Nevertheless, Ya'alon called on young people not to give up: ''I don't believe that because of this people should leave the country. Those who care [about Israel] must stay here and help change things, lead the change.''

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