X. AcknowledgmentsThis report was researched and written by Lucy Mair, researcher in the Middle East and North Africa Division of Human Rights Watch. Joe Stork, deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa Division, and Ian Gorvin, Senior Program Officer at Human Rights Watch, edited the report. Aisling Reidy, senior legal advisor, conducted the legal review, and Iain Levine, Program Director, provided additional review of the recommendations. Intern Shir Alon and consultants Awatef Shiekh, Eitan Michaeli, and Michael Yagupsky provided interpretation, translation and research assistance. University of Virginia Law School human rights clinic students Kate Larson, Mai-Linh Hong, and Chad Trainer, under the supervision of Prof. Deena Hurwitz, provided background research and analysis on indigenous land rights. Assef Ashraf, Leeam Azulay-Yagev, Grace Choi, Fitzroy Hepkins, and José Martinez provided production assistance. Banna Shoughry-Badarne of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) and Ariel Dloomy of Dukium reviewed and provided thoughtful comments on a draft of the report. Human Rights Watch also gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the many individuals and organizations in Israel who shared generously their time and expertise during the research phase. Special thanks go to the staff of the Regional Council for the Unrecognized Villages of the Negev (RCUV), Banna Shoughry-Badarne of ACRI, Suhad Bishara and Morad al-Sane’ of Adalah, Ariel Dloomy of Dukium, Meir Margalit of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, and Advocate Shafeek Abu Hani. Most of all, Human Rights Watch wishes to thank all the Bedouin who agreed to share their experiences and be interviewed for this report. Human Rights Watch gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Open Society Institute. |