SNIPPITS AND SNAPPITS: SETTLER COUPLE SUING BEDOUIN COMMUNITY OVER FUMES FROM BREAD OVEN

Tuesday, 18 February 2014

SETTLER COUPLE SUING BEDOUIN COMMUNITY OVER FUMES FROM BREAD OVEN

ED Noor: It is noteworthy to see that in today's world, the word "settler" now immediately conjures up the image of fanatical Israeli's bent on obliterating the native Palestinians.

At one time "settler" refereed to the pioneers of North America who were involved in the eradication of the Native Americans, but now, without a second thought, that image has changed. No longer do I remember the "cowboys and Indians" of my childhood; it is settlers and Palestinians.

Read on about another Israeli settler style of attack; now it is offensive to the highly kosher nostrils and sensibilities of settlers who live downwind of Bedouin ovens that were there long before the settlers stole the land upon which they live! The ovens, traditionally known as a taboun is fuelled by animal manure. Taboun

Taboun

By Jessica Purkiss

Middle East Monitor

February 18, 2014
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An Israeli settler couple are attempting to sue a Bedouin community over the fumes being emitted from their bread oven.
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Yaakov and Bareket Goldstein from the illegal Israeli settlement of Carmel claim that the bread oven made from natural materials emits so much smoke that it is damaging the health of their family. They are hoping to receive compensation to the tune of around $28,650 from the impoverished Bedouins on whose land the settlement is built, although the couple claim that the actual damages should be more than double that amount. The compensation is for alleged unspecified damages as a result of the fumes, with a charge of a further 300 shekels per day since the opening of the file.
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Following a demolition order issued against the bread oven from the Civil Administration in 2010, the High Court of Justice issued a temporary order preventing it's destruction in response to a petition by the residents. During the hearing on the petition, held around 3 months ago, the community's lawyer, Jiat Nasser, agreed to withdraw it since Justice Uzi Vogelman had opined that the state ought to accept the residents' request for a backdated building permit for the oven. Two days after the petition was cancelled, attorney Doron Nir-Tzvi filed the Goldsteins' suit. Nasser believes that it is an attempt to scare the Bedouin following Justice Vogelman's judgement.
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On the steeped landscape of the South Hebron Hills, Suleiman Eid, the 65-year-old being held responsible for the oven, crouched on the ground gazing at the pristine settlement of Carmel. Since the first Israeli bulldozers arrived on his land in 1980, construction in the adjacent settlement has progressed, with more Jewish settlers arriving to build lives in "Judea and Samaria". Yaakov and his wife were two of these, moving to Carmel in 2008 with their four children.
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Watching the goats and sheep graze on his land, Suleiman said:

"As refugees from the Negev, we came here and bought the land to make a new home. In 1981, my father had over 1,000 sheep and goats; today we only have 150."

Suleiman, one of the village elders, is listed as a defendant in the Goldsteins' lawsuit. In addition to the damages claim, Yaakov has filed a police complaint against the elderly man, whom Goldstein says threatened his life. Although the Bedouins are Arabic-speaking, all of the official documents are written only in Hebrew.
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The bread-oven, which is used to make traditional Bedouin bread, was built 30 years ago, according to Umm el Kheir's residents. They also say that the wind only blows in the direction of the settlement for one month of the year, casting doubt over the Goldsteins' claims.
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The couple, however, claim that the Bedouin community trespassed on state land and built the structure "a number of years ago". They also claim that the smell and smoke is affecting their daily life.

"They treat this like its Chernobyl!" said Suleiman's son. "We didn't build the bread oven 30 years ago to disturb Yaakov in 2008. I want him to be a nice, quiet neighbour but some of settlers don't want that. We won't attack them, we never have, we never will. We are different from them, we are peaceful. But we ask that they don't bother us. We are tired. We are already refugees from Beer Sheba."

Despite their incredibly close proximity, the Bedouin community of Umm el Kheir has not been hooked up to the electricity grid and water pipes which service settlers like Yaakov and Bareket, and instead live in homes without running water; they pilfer the only mod-con available to them, internet access, from the settlement's wireless network. Belonging to the Hadalin tribe and originally from Tel Arad, the community was expelled in the early 1950s by Israel. After finding their way to their current location and buying a large plot of land from residents of Yatta, a nearby village, the Bedouins fear that they are facing expulsion once again.
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Recently, they claim to have heard from a Druze leader of the District Coordination Office that Israel had claimed a further piece of their land, which has reportedly been given to the settlers for settlement expansion.
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According to the residents, after Suleiman visited the above area, he was taken to an Israeli police station for 8 hours and subject to one-and-a-half hours of questioning for "trespassing on Israeli land". The community claims not to have been informed of this change in the land's ownership.

"The settlers will push any case, the case of the land, the case of the oven, and then when the oven case is closed, they will create another case," said one of Umm al Kheir's residents. "The truth is ~ it isn't about the oven."

A couple of weeks earlier, settlers descended from the disputed area where they had erected a structure, towards the Bedouin community and attacked the resident's cattle as they were grazing.

"We have never seen this before," said a resident. "It seems to be a new policy which is so aggressive, so angry."

The incident, captured by the villagers in a 40 minute video, happened in the presence of Israeli soldiers who appeared not to make any attempt to intercede.
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During the incident Suleiman Eid fainted. His son asked to be able to carry him away but was told by an Israeli soldier that the area would become a closed military zone at 9am, allowing him 3 minutes to assist his father. Upon requesting an ambulance, the soldier is reported to have said that he could call one but the family would have to pay 7,000 shekels, which they could not afford. The soldier then informed Suleiman's son that following their conversation he now only had two minutes remaining to collect his father from the valley where he had fallen.

"We are animals and they are humans," said one of the Bedouin women. "Is that what they are saying? Where is the humanity? There are no human rights. I am so sad. Settlers come to harass us with the Israeli army to protect them and the whole world supports them."

The community continues to wait for the outcome of the lawsuit.
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