Hura Beduin grant Peres title of 'Sheikh' during visit

Peres says Hura is a prime example of Negev Beduin development, says he supports Golberg report to incorporate Beduin communities.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
President Shimon Peres (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
President Shimon Peres
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
President Shimon Peres visited the Negev Beduin village of Hura Tuesday, praising the community as a prime example of Negev development. Peres received a warm welcome, and received the honorary title Sheikh Peres.
The president mentioned the Goldberg report, compiled by retired Supreme Court Judge Eliezer Goldberg, which called for recognition of the various Beduin villages scattered throughout Israel's south, saying "the Beduin are not a problem, rather they are part of the Negev."
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Speaking about the village, Peres said "we need to take a successful thing and imitate it [in other communities]. Whoever is interested in solving the Beduin issue should come here. On the way here I saw the industrial center, I saw preparations for agricultural research and development, and the central street of Hura."
Peres commended the great progress the community has made since he last visited six years earlier. 
The Hura Coucil head told the president that "we see your visit here with utmost importance. We, here, are in the Negev, in the periphery, and the Beduin population is right now in a transitory period from a simple life of social and economic stability to a modern life with slightly less stability."
The council head added that the current "ten years are critical," saying that the Beduin, as a third of the South's population, must be an integral part of development or efforts will fail.