Jewish-Bedouin relations in the late Ottoman Era, 1858–1914

ABSTRACT The complex relationship between Bedouins and Zionist pioneers in the Land of Israel during the late 19th and early 20th centuries evolved along two parallel tracks: conflict and cooperation. The former was a corollary of the sociocultural gap between the pioneers and the Bedouins and revolved by and large around the diametrically opposed views regarding land ownership rights and their implications (e.g. access to water, grazing). The latter was a result of the growing Bedouin realisation that the Zionist project was there to stay: the more the Jewish pioneers proved their determination to cultivate their lands and defend themselves the more they won Bedouin respect, or at least grudging acquiescence, which in turn evolved to wider recognition of the vast socioeconomic benefits of peaceful coexistence.