The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers has announced a feasibility study to determine if non-Latin characters can be used for domain names and URLs in the future. Thus, one will need not type in Israel something like "http://www.nana.com" but can type a permutation of "http://נענע.קום" in the future. So, was Hebrew chosen as a language to use in the initial feasibility study? Nope! Instead, ICANN decided on Yiddish. Yes, they chose that language of European Jewry that developed into a rich world of culture and comedy. As one professor of mine as an undergraduate put it: "Hebrew is not a very funny language. Yiddish, though, is !@#$%^ hilarious."
Yiddish was chosen as a preliminary language since the characters for Hebrew can be found in the Yiddish character set, in addition to some other dots and features of the Yiddish language. Thus, they know that if it works with Yiddish, it'll definitely work with Hebrew. Try it for yourself to see if it works:
http://בײַשפּיל.טעסט
Monday, November 19, 2007
It's All About the Bedouins
I've finally managed to return to the blogging world. It's almost like I needed a visa to get out of the world here and after one-and-a-half months of coursework, including seminars around the country and a trip hiking south in the desert, I've received my permission to yored out of Israel and oleh into blogger's paradise.
I mentioned previously I would talk about Arad, but for now I must leave you with a few words, the following photo, and a few more words. Some would say Arad is no Tel Aviv, others that Tel Aviv is no Arad. Most tend to say that the road is longer from Tel Aviv to Arad than the other way around. Here's a view of where I spend my nights:
Staaaaaaaaaaaam! (Israeli for "just kidding.") Nevertheless, this picture encapsulates what Arad looked like prior to the development of the city and is the scene just a 30 second bike ride outside of the city limits.
When one finds oneself in such a remote place, one would be hard pressed to find any life or vitality in such harsh conditions. Au contraire! As you may have guessed by the title, a whole people's way of life centers around the solitude and tranquility of the desert. Having spent part of the morning yesterday in Kseife, a Bedouin town nearby Arad, and an entire seminar previously traveling through Bedouin communities in the Negev, I offer the following look at the Bedouin.
The morning of my seminar began in the Bedouin town of Laquia, farther from Arad. We visited a women's NGO that uses traditional Bedouin methods of weaving to develop bags, carpets, and pillows. Ultimately, this female-run enterprise helps empower women in the Bedouin community.
What Laquia and Kseife represent are Israel's attempt to "modernize the Bedouin." As a nomadic people, even upon settling into more permanent villages that permitted wide-open spaces, Bedouin in Israel are encouraged to settle in one of a few cities or towns in the northern Negev. Many Bedouin who live in these cities find the life quite restrictive. For traditional women, especially, who are permitted to travel within a particular tribe or community, now find themselves limited to their homes because of the mixing of tribes in a given city. Blood libel represents another significant issue within the cities: in the open spaces, members of a particular extended family or tribe could walk away from a problem and now no such opportunity exists.
As a result, many of these Israeli citizens have chosen to remain in villages spread throughout the northern Negev. These "unrecognized" villages receive no services from the government including water, electricity, nearby schooling for children, easily accessible healthcare clinics, and so on. Occasionally, the homes in these unrecognized villages can be destroyed to make way for other building projects. As a result, most of these villages contain cheap steel trailers that double as homes so as not to lose significant expense in the event that a home becomes listed as one to be demolished.
Unfortunately, Wadi Naam represets one of the worst examples of the policy to turn a blind eye to the presence of these villages. Wadi Naam, a community that predates other infrastructure in the area, is now situated fairly close to Ramat Hovav, Israel's waste and chemical management facilities in the Negev. Additionally, a power plant has been built in the center of the village. The village of Wadi Naam has one of the highest rates of birth defects in the entire country and one can immediately notice a faint foul smell from the industry upon getting out of the bus.
Some in Israel may argue that Bedouins feel no connection to the State of Israel and may represent a security threat (especially given the likelihood that Bedouin in the Sinai are responsible for trafficking of weapons from Egypt to Gaza, as well as young girls to work as prostitutes from Eastern Europe into Israel). One can see otherwise with Israeli Bedouin: I noticed posters commemorating the loss of Prime Minister Rabin hanging in a Bedouin school with both Arabic and Hebrew filling the walls. Additionally, a small portion of the Bedouin community join the army and serve in Bedouin units specialized in navigation in the desert given the skills Bedouin have developed culturally for centuries as a nomadic people. Nevertheless, some of that patriotism is waining.
Some signs of change are present, however. Israel has begun to recognize a few of the unrecognized villages as opposed to suggesting that those Bedouin must reside in cities to receive benefits. And one cannot ignore the compulsion of many individual Israelis to pursue social justice--a number of Israelis sit with Bedouins and assist the community on the Regional Council for the Unrecognized Villages. Additionally, Physicians for Human Rights has done advocacy and clinical work providing for the unrecognized villages. The policies of the Israeli government likely do not represent overt antagonism against its own citizens (hopefully) and more likely represent maintenance of the status quo as a lower priority issue compared with dealing with the peace process, Palestinians, Iran, etc. Many are finally recognizing this rich culture among Israeli citizens of the Negev and, too, are enriched by so much more than delicious pita and some of the best coffee the Negev has to offer.
I mentioned previously I would talk about Arad, but for now I must leave you with a few words, the following photo, and a few more words. Some would say Arad is no Tel Aviv, others that Tel Aviv is no Arad. Most tend to say that the road is longer from Tel Aviv to Arad than the other way around. Here's a view of where I spend my nights:
Staaaaaaaaaaaam! (Israeli for "just kidding.") Nevertheless, this picture encapsulates what Arad looked like prior to the development of the city and is the scene just a 30 second bike ride outside of the city limits.When one finds oneself in such a remote place, one would be hard pressed to find any life or vitality in such harsh conditions. Au contraire! As you may have guessed by the title, a whole people's way of life centers around the solitude and tranquility of the desert. Having spent part of the morning yesterday in Kseife, a Bedouin town nearby Arad, and an entire seminar previously traveling through Bedouin communities in the Negev, I offer the following look at the Bedouin.
The morning of my seminar began in the Bedouin town of Laquia, farther from Arad. We visited a women's NGO that uses traditional Bedouin methods of weaving to develop bags, carpets, and pillows. Ultimately, this female-run enterprise helps empower women in the Bedouin community.
What Laquia and Kseife represent are Israel's attempt to "modernize the Bedouin." As a nomadic people, even upon settling into more permanent villages that permitted wide-open spaces, Bedouin in Israel are encouraged to settle in one of a few cities or towns in the northern Negev. Many Bedouin who live in these cities find the life quite restrictive. For traditional women, especially, who are permitted to travel within a particular tribe or community, now find themselves limited to their homes because of the mixing of tribes in a given city. Blood libel represents another significant issue within the cities: in the open spaces, members of a particular extended family or tribe could walk away from a problem and now no such opportunity exists.
As a result, many of these Israeli citizens have chosen to remain in villages spread throughout the northern Negev. These "unrecognized" villages receive no services from the government including water, electricity, nearby schooling for children, easily accessible healthcare clinics, and so on. Occasionally, the homes in these unrecognized villages can be destroyed to make way for other building projects. As a result, most of these villages contain cheap steel trailers that double as homes so as not to lose significant expense in the event that a home becomes listed as one to be demolished.
Unfortunately, Wadi Naam represets one of the worst examples of the policy to turn a blind eye to the presence of these villages. Wadi Naam, a community that predates other infrastructure in the area, is now situated fairly close to Ramat Hovav, Israel's waste and chemical management facilities in the Negev. Additionally, a power plant has been built in the center of the village. The village of Wadi Naam has one of the highest rates of birth defects in the entire country and one can immediately notice a faint foul smell from the industry upon getting out of the bus.
Some in Israel may argue that Bedouins feel no connection to the State of Israel and may represent a security threat (especially given the likelihood that Bedouin in the Sinai are responsible for trafficking of weapons from Egypt to Gaza, as well as young girls to work as prostitutes from Eastern Europe into Israel). One can see otherwise with Israeli Bedouin: I noticed posters commemorating the loss of Prime Minister Rabin hanging in a Bedouin school with both Arabic and Hebrew filling the walls. Additionally, a small portion of the Bedouin community join the army and serve in Bedouin units specialized in navigation in the desert given the skills Bedouin have developed culturally for centuries as a nomadic people. Nevertheless, some of that patriotism is waining.
Some signs of change are present, however. Israel has begun to recognize a few of the unrecognized villages as opposed to suggesting that those Bedouin must reside in cities to receive benefits. And one cannot ignore the compulsion of many individual Israelis to pursue social justice--a number of Israelis sit with Bedouins and assist the community on the Regional Council for the Unrecognized Villages. Additionally, Physicians for Human Rights has done advocacy and clinical work providing for the unrecognized villages. The policies of the Israeli government likely do not represent overt antagonism against its own citizens (hopefully) and more likely represent maintenance of the status quo as a lower priority issue compared with dealing with the peace process, Palestinians, Iran, etc. Many are finally recognizing this rich culture among Israeli citizens of the Negev and, too, are enriched by so much more than delicious pita and some of the best coffee the Negev has to offer.
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