Paper short abstract:

At a first glance, Arab-Bedouin life at the shadow of the Israeli chemical industry plant of Ramat Hovav seems a striking example of the contraposition between neoliberalism and indigenious communities. In this paper I try to outline the contradictions of this binary picture.

Paper long abstract:

At a first glance, Arab-Bedouin life at the shadow of the contested Israeli chemical industry and toxic waste facility of Ramat Hovav seems a striking example of how neoliberalist practices shatter indigenious communities. Framing injustice widely in ethno-culturalist terms, the area moved to the center of multiple forms of activism, academic writing and political lobbying. Drawing on fieldwork on the struggles for health services for Arab-Bedouin citizens in the area, I try to outline some of the contradictions of this binary picture: some indigenious residents seem better globally empowered by funding than the regional authorities, the access to medical services is partly rejected by local residents itself. I claim that the overlooking of these more complex relations is facilitated by a "fetish" with local culture mascherading major power relations. What is shattered here is not a local community, but the presumed polarity between residents and industry.