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Spatial constraints, environmental hazards and Bedouin in Israel: towards spatial conceptualization of a changing Indigenous society

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Abstract

We examine the prevalent issue of political, economic, social and cultural conditions of Indigenous groups in Western states as spatial constraints when they choose to stay put in their birthplace, even under conditions of environmental hazard. These constraints are imposed upon them by the government, the enveloping dominant culture and their own internal cultural codes and social structure. These issues are examined among two unrecognized Bedouin villages in Israel susceptible to industrial environmental hazards. The various spatial constraints are interpreted as spatial bars that become thicker under the environmental hazard. In conceptualizing this unique situation, we propose the concept of confining space that dwells within the wider conceptualizations of production of space and time.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the dozens Bedouin who agreed for the interviews. We also wish to thank the anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography and Environmental Development, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 1 Ben-Gurion Ave, Beer Sheva, Israel

    Maor Kohn, Avinoam Meir & Meidad Kissinger

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  1. Maor Kohn
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  2. Avinoam Meir
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Correspondence to Maor Kohn.

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All of the interviewees who participated in the study did so voluntarily and with informed consent. Their names were not published in order to protect their privacy.

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Kohn, M., Meir, A. & Kissinger, M. Spatial constraints, environmental hazards and Bedouin in Israel: towards spatial conceptualization of a changing Indigenous society. GeoJournal 85, 1–18 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-018-9954-4

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