Benjamin Netanyahu's has recently spoken out about 'migrant workers' gaining access to Israel through the Egyptian border and forcing wages within Israel 'down to third world levels'. However, more revealing was Netanyahu's claim that such migrants pose a direct threat to Israel's 'Jewish and Democratic nature'. Surely, this stance is at the root of many of the discriminatory practices of the Israeli state within Israel and the Occupied Territories. How can Israel be both a Jewish state, and a democratic state? Surely, a democratic state will treat all its citizens and inhabitants in a equal manner.

Clearly it is not achieving this in reality, as the treatment of 'Arab Israelis' and the Bedouin within Israel is not the same as the benefits that Jewish Israeli's receive. Before 1948 and the creation of Israel 70,000 Bedouins lived in the Negev area, many were expelled from their lands, others stayed on and protested against Ben-Gurion's policy of transferring them for 'security reasons'. Subsequently, the state of Israel created seven state planned towns in the Negev and tried to force the Bedouin to resettle here. Today, half of the Bedouins live in these seven towns, the other half now numbering around 60,000 people remain scattered in tribes across the Negev. The state refuses to recognise the rights and existence of these latter Bedouin as such it refuses to provide them with electricity, water and sewage facilities. Furthermore, these unrecognised Bedouin unlike other Israeli citizens are unable to vote in elections for local authorities. In 2000, the Bedouins average annual income was 4,925 NIS, compared to an average Israeli income of 10,988 NIS.

The Bedouins life expectancy, due to difficulties in accessing health care, and failure of the state to provide basic sanitation services is like that of a 'third world' country. So while, Netanyahu is worrying about migrants forcing labour wages down to 'third world levels', he is ignoring the fact that 60,000 Bedouin that live permanently within Israel, and have done so since before Israel's existence, are already living in third world conditions, due to the state's complete denial of their existence. Perhaps thats what Netanyahu meant by 'Jewish democracy'?