Protective presence

Protective Presence – Our Path to Reducing Violence
In recent years, we have experienced a significant increase in cases of violence against Bedouin shepherd communities, with the aim of intimidating, damaging property and ultimately causing their expulsion.
With the help of dedicated volunteers, Friends of the Jahalin carry out many activities to protect the communities, including an open line to report attacks, 24/7 presence in cases of need, documenting illegal actions by violent groups, activating security forces against property vandals and troublemakers, and outreach activities in the settlement.
With the beginning of the Iron Swords War, in October 2023, representatives from the Jewish settlement arrived at the Ka'abna tribe community near Mitzpe Jericho and demanded that they demolish their huts and leave within 24 hours. Following the intervention of Friends of the Jahalin, the destruction was stopped, donations were collected, and the community was restored. Our activists maintained a continuous presence in the field for several weeks to prevent a repeat of the event. The community that was destroyed and rebuilt at the beginning of the war left in part out of fear of the constant harassment and the families that remained lived there in fear, without electricity and sometimes without water due to repeated damage to the pipeline. During 2024 and 2025, farms, illegal outposts, were established adjacent to the Bedouin communities in the area. Since then, violent incidents in the Jahalin area have increased and escalated. It should be emphasized that not all farms are violent, but residents of some of the outposts, some of them teenagers, try to make life miserable for the Bedouins in many ways: invading the farms' herds into community areas, stealing food for the goats that the Bedouins buy with full money, damaging water lines, blinding the huts throughout the night, driving ATVs wildly inside the communities day and night, operating drones with loud speakers at night, destroying solar panels that provide the little electricity to the communities, spraying "revenge" graffiti on Bedouin houses, attacking shepherds - mostly children - to prevent grazing, throwing stones, cursing, and a threatening presence. The residents live in constant fear.
What makes the protective presence of the Friends of the Jahalin group unique is the partnership with volunteers from the nearby Jewish settlement and the close cooperation with security forces in order to maintain order and put out fires. This unusual combination allows us to expand our reach and promote a more peaceful reality. We respond to violence with an outstretched hand of peace and try to prevent it or at least minimize it through dialogue, advocacy, and a nonviolent presence.
An equally important aspect is expressing solidarity with the Bedouin, and showing the beautiful face of Israel. We reassure the women and children with our very presence, and show that not all Jews want to harm them.
We hope that sanity will return and Jews will not be forced to protect the Bedouins from their Jewish brothers.