Shaqib_al-Salam
Shaqib al-Salam
Local council in Southern Israel
Shaqib al-Salam (Arabic: شقيب السلام) or Segev Shalom (Hebrew: שֶׂגֶב שָׁלוֹם) and also known as Shqeb as-Salam,[3] is a Bedouin town and a local council in the Southern District of Israel, southeast of Beersheba. In 2022 it had a population of 12,540.[2]
Shaqib al-Salam
| |
|---|---|
Local council (from 1996) | |
| Hebrew transcription(s) | |
| • Also spelled | Segev Shalom (official) Shaqeeb as-Salaam (unofficial) |
| Coordinates: 31°11′50″N 34°50′18″E | |
| Country |  Israel |
| District | Southern |
| Founded | 1979 |
| Government | |
| • Head of Municipality | Omar Abu Muamar[1] |
| Area | |
| • Total | 5,981 dunams (5.981 km2 or 2.309 sq mi) |
| Population (2022)[2] | |
| • Total | 12,540 |
| • Density | 2,100/km2 (5,400/sq mi) |
Shaqib was founded in 1979 as part of a government project to settle Negev Bedouins in permanent settlements, and declared a local council in 1996. It is one of seven Bedouin townships in the Negev desert with approved plans and developed infrastructure alongside Hura, Tel as-Sabi (Tel Sheva), Ar'arat an-Naqab (Ar'ara BaNegev), Lakiya, Kuseife (Kseife) and the city of Rahat, the largest among them.[4]
Township's name "Segev Shalom" comes from a Sagiv river that flows nearby and also relates to the Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel (Shalom stands for peace in Hebrew) signed the same year the township was founded.
Prior to the establishment of Israel, the Negev Bedouins were a semi-nomadic society that had been through a process of sedentariness since the Ottoman rule of the region.
During the British Mandate, the administration did not provide a legal frame to justify and preserve lands’ ownership. In order to settle this issue, Israel’s land policy was adapted to a large extent from the Ottoman land regulations of 1858 as the only preceding legal frame. Thus Israel nationalized most of the Negev lands using the state’s land regulations from 1969.[citation needed]
Shaqib al-Salam/Segev Shalom was founded in 1979 based on an agreement reached with Azazmeh Sheikh Ouda which allowed the tribe to settle on its traditional lands. The Segev Shalom local council, with nine members, was created as an instrument of local government. In 2000, the council held mayoral elections. [5]
According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), the population of Shaqib was 7,739 in December 2010,[6] up from 6,500 in December 2006.[7] The average population growth rate here was 5.5%.
Shaqib al-Salam's jurisdiction is 5,981 dunams (~6 km2).[8] Most residents belong to various clans of the al-Azazme tribe which also populates Bir Hadaj, and also to Tarabin.
The township is situated close to Beersheva so its economy is closely related to that of the city. Several industrial parks are situated in the area: Beersheba, Hura, Ramat Hovav, Idan HaNegev[9] and Rahat. Residents also work in the services industry in Beersheba. There are several organizations that promote entrepreneurship among the 160,000 Bedouins living in the Negev, primarily aimed at Bedouin women.
As of 2015, the average monthly income was 4,908 shekels.[10]
In May 2010 a One Stop Employment Center was established in Shaqib al-Salam to facilitate the integration of Bedouins into the workplace. It has dramatically increased the proportion of Bedouins employed.[11]
There is a number of organizations carrying out different activities aimed at supporting and facilitating entrepreneurship in Israel's South in order to further integrate the 160,000 Bedouins living in the Negev into Israel's mainstream economy. They are primarily aimed at Bedouin women.
Twenty Arab-Bedouin women from the towns of Rahat, Lakiya, Tel Sheva, Segev Shalom, Kuseife and Rachma participated in a sewing course for fashion design at the Amal College in Beer Sheva, including lessons on sewing and cutting, personal empowerment and business initiatives.[12]
There is a branch of Clalit Health Services in the township, as well as several Tipat Halav perinatal (baby care) centers.[3]
The Jewish National Fund built a central park with an amphitheater adjacent to the community’s town hall.[13]
- Prime Minister's Media Adviser (November 3, 2011). "PM Netanyahu meets with Negev Bedouin mayors" (Press release). Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Israel). Retrieved April 16, 2019.
- "Regional Statistics". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- Steven C. Dinero (November 2010). Settling for Less: The Planned Resettlement of Israel's Negev Bedouin. Berghahn Books. ISBN 9781845459826.
- "CBS. Statistic abstract of Israel 2011. POPULATION AND DENSITY PER SQ. KM. IN LOCALITIES NUMBERING 5,000 RESIDENTS AND MORE ON 31 XII 2010(1)" (PDF). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. 2010-12-31. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-01-05.
- Israel Central Bureau of Statistics CBS. Table 3 - Population of Localities Numbering Above 1,000 Residents and Other Rural Population December 31, 2007. Retrieved April 4, 2008
- "Local Authorities in Israel 2005, Publication #1295 - Municipality Profiles - Segev-Shalom" (PDF) (in Hebrew). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
- Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (2016). "שגב-שלום" [Segev Shalom] (PDF). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (in Hebrew). Retrieved April 16, 2019.
- Economic Empowerment. Arab-Bedouin Fashion Design Archived 2013-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
- Working with Bedouin communities Jewish National Fund
- Shaqib al-Salam's Facebook page
- Fire within. A film about Jacobs International Teen Leadership Institute' program on bringing the American Jewish youth, Israeli Jewish youth and Israeli Bedouin youth together
- Lands of the Negev, a short film presented by Israel Land Administration describing the challenges faced in providing land management and infrastructure to the Bedouins in Israel's southern Negev region