Search Results (18)

Cultural traditions in Israel’s Bedouin-Arab community encourage and permit men to take up to four wives, a practice supported by Islamic teachings. Despite legal prohibitions against polygyny in Israel, such marriages remain common and have profound effects on women, children, and broader society. This study explores how traditional notions of masculinity and positive attitudes toward polygyny influence young Bedouin men’s reactions to a hypothetical scenario in which their wife refuses to accept a polygynous marriage as a threat to men’s ego and pride. The sample consisted of 459 young, unmarried Israeli Bedouin-Arab men, aged 16 to 25, a demographic frequently under family pressure to marry, making the issue of marriage highly relevant. We hypothesized that traditional masculinity and favorable attitudes toward polygyny would be positively associated with heightened perceptions of ego and pride threats in response to a wife’s refusal. Participants were randomly assigned to imagine either their wife refusing a polygynous arrangement (n = 228) or accepting a polygynous arrangement (n = 231) and then reporting their anticipated emotional responses. The results showed that traditional masculinity was linked to positive attitudes toward polygyny, and both were significantly associated with increased perceptions of ego and pride threats in the refusal scenario but not in the acceptance scenario. The findings suggest that men with strong masculine identities and favorable views of polygyny are especially vulnerable to feeling threatened by a wife’s refusal. This supports social construction theory and underscores the role of cultural norms in shaping emotional responses. The discussion highlights the psychological impacts of polygyny in patriarchal societies and calls for culturally sensitive interventions that challenge traditional norms while fostering psychological resilience and gender equality. Full article

Arabic diglossia, whereby Standard Arabic (SA) exists alongside numerous vernaculars, often leads to diglossic style-shifting, based on context or topic changes and marked in the vernacular by shifting to standard linguistic features. While this phenomenon has been widely studied in the speech of educated adults, research on diglossic style-shifting by children and adolescents has been rather limited. This paper investigates how it operates amongst 3–17-year-olds from a Bedouin speech community of Palestinian refugees in Syria. It examines context effects on realizations of the variables (θ) and (ð), which overlap with local realizations and (q), which has a standard realization ([q]) that is independent of dialectal variation in the community. Participants were recorded during sociolinguistic interviews and a picture-naming task, the latter being expected to evoke a school setting and prompt the use of more standard realizations, signaling diglossic style-shifting in their speech. Style-shifting was influenced by age, context, and the linguistic variables under examination. While picture-naming prompted greater use of standard realizations of all variables, shifting to [q] also appeared during the interview in lexical borrowings from SA, revealing topic effects on diglossic style-shifting. Children aged 6–14 exhibited more style-shifting in picture-naming, likely reflecting the central role of school in their lives, while the speech of 15–17-year-olds contained more lexical borrowing with [q]. This likely reflects their larger linguistic repertoires and longer exposure to SA than their younger peers. These findings indicate that SA plays a key role in participants’ linguistic practices and reflect their awareness of how to employ it appropriately in their speech. Full article

Polygynous marriage is prevalent among Israel’s Bedouin-Arab community, despite being explicitly banned by state law. Cultural traditions and customs permit men to take multiple wives, and Islamic teachings do not prohibit the practice. The impact of polygyny is significant, affecting women, children, and society as a whole in various ways. We examined the connections that attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance had with hypothetical responses to the potential threat of polygynous marriages in a community sample of young unmarried Israeli Bedouin-Arab women (n = 306). Participants were randomly assigned to imagine either a high-threat scenario (i.e., finding that their husband decided to take a second wife; n = 151) or a low-threat scenario (i.e., their husband would not decide to take a second wife; n = 155) and report their anticipated responses to these scenarios. Results showed that attachment anxiety was positively associated with anticipated negative emotional responses in the high-threat condition but not in the low-threat condition. However, neither attachment anxiety nor attachment avoidance were associated with the perceived threat of polygyny to their marriage. The findings of this study suggest that attachment styles play a significant role in shaping women’s perceptions and reactions to hypothetical polygynous marriages. Women with anxious attachment styles are more likely to experience intensified negative emotions regarding such marriages, while those with avoidant attachment styles may display greater tolerance toward polygyny. These results highlight the need for tailored interventions and support systems that take into account individual psychological profiles as well as the broader cultural context of Israeli Bedouin-Arab society. Full article

The authenticity of classical Arabic poetry has long been challenged by claims that some part of the pre-Islamic poetic heritage should not be attributed to this era. According to these assertions, some of this legacy was produced after the advent of Islam and ascribed, for different reasons, to pre-Islamic poets. As pre-Islamic poets were illiterate, medieval Arabic literature devotees relied on Bedouin oral transmission when writing down and collecting the poems about two centuries later. This process left the identity of the real poets who composed these poems and the period in which they worked unresolved. In this work, we seek to answer the questions of how and to what extent we can identify the period in which classical Arabic poetry was composed, where we exploit modern-day automatic text processing techniques for this aim. We consider a dataset of Arabic poetry collected from the diwans (‘collections of poems’) of thirteen Arabic poets that corresponds to two main eras: the pre-ʿAbbāsid era (covering the period between the 6th and the 8th centuries CE) and the ʿAbbāsid era (starting in the year 750 CE). Some poems in each diwan are considered ‘original’; i.e., poems that are attributed to a certain poet with high confidence. The diwans also include, however, an additional section of poems that are attributed to a poet with reservations, meaning that these poems might have been composed by another poet and/or in another period. We trained a set of machine learning algorithms (classifiers) in order to explore the potential of machine learning techniques to automatically identify the period in which a poem had been written. In the training phase, we represent each poem using various types of features (characteristics) designed to capture lexical, topical, and stylistic aspects of this poetry. By training and assessing automatic models of period prediction using the ‘original’ poetry, we obtained highly encouraging results, measuring between 0.73–0.90 in terms of F1 for the various periods. Moreover, we observe that the stylistic features, which pertain to elements that characterize Arabic poetry, as well as the other feature types, are all indicative of the period in which the poem had been written. We applied the resulting prediction models to poems for which the authorship period is under dispute (‘attributed’) and got interesting results, suggesting that some of the poems may belong to different eras—an issue to be further examined by Arabic poetry researchers. The resulting prediction models may be applied to poems for which the authorship period is under dispute. We demonstrate this research direction, presenting some interesting anecdotal results. Full article

The Galilee region of Israel boasts a rich ethnic diversity within its Arab population, encompassing distinct Muslim, Christian, Druze, and Bedouin communities. This preliminary exploratory study uniquely examined potential ethnic and gender differences in ischemic stroke characteristics across these Arab subgroups, which are seldom investigated separately in Israel and are typically studied as a homogeneous “Arab” sector, despite significant variations in their ethnicity, culture, customs, and genetics. The current study aimed to comparatively evaluate stroke characteristics, including recurrence rates, severity, and subtypes, within and across these distinct ethnic groups and between genders. When examining the differences in stroke characteristics between ethnic groups, notable findings emerged. The Bedouin population exhibited significantly higher rates of recurrent strokes than Muslims (M = 0.55, SD = 0.85 vs. M = 0.25, SD = 0.56; p < 0.05). Large vessel strokes were significantly more prevalent among Christians (30%) than Druze (9.9%; p < 0.05). Regarding gender differences within each ethnic group, several disparities were observed. Druze women were six times more likely to experience moderate to severe strokes than their male counterparts (p < 0.05). Interestingly, Druze women also exhibited a higher representation of cardio-embolic stroke (19.8%) compared with Druze men (4.6%; p < 0.001). These findings on the heterogeneity in stroke characteristics across Arab ethnic subgroups and by gender underscore the need to reconsider the approach that views all ethnic groups comprising the Arab sector in Israel as a homogeneous population; instead, they should be investigated as distinct communities with unique stroke profiles, requiring tailored culturally aware community-based prevention programs and personalized therapeutic models. The identified patterns may guide future research to develop refined, individualized, and preventive treatment approaches targeting the distinct risk factors, healthcare contexts, and prevention needs of these diverse Arab populations. Full article

This paper presents a variationist analysis of patterns of speech accommodation by 40 Arabic-speaking children and adolescents (aged 3–17) experiencing dialect contact in a Bedouin speech community near Damascus, Syria. It examines participants’ use of the phonological variables (θ), (ð), and (q), and the morphophonological feminine suffix (-a) in recorded sociolinguistic interviews and play sessions with two female fieldworkers, a local and an urban speaker, in order to investigate accommodation patterns across different interlocutors. Accommodation patterns were influenced by age, gender, and the linguistic variable under examination. Convergence to the urban interviewer was most evident in the realization of (q), whereas little convergence, and indeed variation, occurred in the realization of (-a), and more convergence occurred in the speech of girls and speakers younger than 15. Divergence and maintenance emerged in the speech of 15–17-year-old male speakers. These patterns are analysed in light of Accommodation Communication Theory and issues of identity and linguistic prestige in Arabic. Accommodative behaviour in the speech of participants exhibits their awareness of the social value of the phonological variables under investigation and demonstrates a high level of sociolinguistic awareness and competence. Full article

Introduction: Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a congenital thoracic disorder caused by dysfunction of motile cilia, resulting in insufficient mucociliary clearance of the lungs. The overall aim of this study is to identify causative defective genes in PCD-affected individuals in the Kuwaiti population. Methods: A cohort of multiple consanguineous PCD families was identified from Kuwaiti patients and genomic DNA from the family members was isolated using standard procedures. The DNA samples from all affected individuals were analyzed by whole exome sequencing (WES). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and immunofluorescent analysis (IF) were performed on samples obtained by nasal brushings to identify specific structural abnormalities within ciliated cells. Results: Here, we present six multiplex families with 11 patients who all presented with typical PCD symptoms. Ten out of eleven patients inherited a 3 bp homozygous deletion of GAA in RSPH9, whereas the eleventh patients inherited this variant in trans with a frameshift deletion in RSPH9. Genetic results were confirmed by segregation analysis. The in-frame deletion of GAA in RSPH9 has previously been published as pathogenic in both annotated RSPH9 transcript variants (1 and 2). In contrast, the previously unpublished RSPH9 frameshift deletion identified in KU-15.IV2 impacts only RSPH9 transcript variant two. Regarding all 11 PCD individuals analyzed, IF results demonstrated absence of RSPH9 protein and TEM analysis showed the typical findings in RSPH9 mutant individuals. Conclusions: We present the largest cohort of PCD individuals affected by the founder in-frame deletion GAA in RSPH9. This founder variant is the most common PCD-causing variant in Bedouin Arabs in Kuwait. Full article

Objective: Caring for a child with epilepsy poses various psychological, physical and medical challenges; these can lead to caregiver burden. The aim of this study was to identify predictors of burden with mothers caring for a child with epilepsy. Our analyses included sociodemographic (e.g., ethnicity), mental health (e.g., symptoms of anxiety, depression) and physiological factors (e.g., extent of pharmacotherapy). Methods: A total of 168 mothers caring for a child with epilepsy were recruited while attending the Pediatric Neurology Clinic at Soroka Medical Center, Be’er Sheva, Israel. This cross-sectional sample included 130 Jewish-Israeli and 38 Arab-Bedouin mothers who completed parallel questionnaire batteries that included the Zarit Burden Interview and other scales translated and validated in Hebrew and Arabic. We computed path analyses to identify both direct and indirect predictors of caregiver burden. Results: Burden was directly predicted by emotional exhaustion, symptoms of anxiety and (Bedouin) ethnicity. Indirect effects on burden included illness severity (via emotional exhaustion), ethnicity and emotional exhaustion (both via anxiety). That is, both ethnicity and emotional exhaustion directly and indirectly predicted caregiver burden via greater anxiety. Illness severity indirectly predicted symptoms of depression, anxiety and caregiver burden. We found that 55% of epilepsy care burden was predicted by this path model. Conclusions: Bedouin mothers reported greater illness severity, symptoms of depression, anxiety and caregiver burden. Differences between groups in epilepsy severity suggest that less severe cases in the Bedouin community do not come to clinical attention (e.g., are concealed due to stigma). These findings underscore the need for health promotion strategies and interventions for caregivers tailored to account for ethnic and cultural differences. Full article

In the context of the many movements with a strong female presence promoting peace in the Middle East, the movement Women Wage Peace (WWP) currently represents the largest and most impactful organization in the country. Founded in the aftermath of the 50-day Gaza War/Operation Protective Edge of 2014, Women Wage Peace has grown to 45,000 Israeli members, the most significant grassroots peace movement in Israel today. WWP’s theory of change refracts the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and its resolution, through a gendered lens. The movement is non-partisan and does not support any specific solution to the conflict. Instead, it empowers women from diverse communities to build trust across divides, leading to a unified demand for diplomatic negotiation, with full representation of women, to end the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. WWP enables very diverse women to unite with the aim of taking their own and their children’s futures into their own hands: women from the left, center, and right, young and old, from the center and periphery of the country, religious and secular, Jewish, Arab, Druze, and Bedouin. The movement continues to refine its non-hierarchical structure, distributing its work among thousands of volunteers who serve on regional and/or mission-specific teams, including Government Engagement, Foreign Affairs, Digital Communication, Special Projects, and Strategy. Full article

Genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships within the Arabian show horse populations are of particular interest to breeders worldwide. Using the complete mitochondrial DNA D-loop sequence (916 pb), this study aimed (i) to understand the genetic relationship between three populations, the Desert-Bred (DB), a subset of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain (BAH), the Straight Egyptian (EG) and the Polish bloodline (PL), and (ii) to assess the accuracy of the traditional strain classification system based on maternal lines, as stated by the Bedouin culture. To that end, we collected 211 hair samples from stud farms renowned for breeding Arabian show horses from Nejd KSA, Bahrain, Egypt, Qatar, Morocco, UAE, and Poland. The phylogenetic and network analyses of the whole mitochondrial DNA D-loop sequence highlighted a great genetic diversity among the Arabian horse populations, in which about 75% of variance was assigned to populations and 25% to strains. The discriminant analysis of principal components illustrated a relative distinction between those populations. A clear subdivision between traditional strains was found in PL, in contrast to the situation of DB and EG populations. However, several Polish horse individuals could not be traced back to the Bedouin tribes by historical documentation and were shown to differ genetically from other studied Bedouin strains, hence motivating extended investigations. Full article

In Israel, as in other developed countries, mental health problems are common among older adults who are members of disadvantaged ethnic minorities that are experiencing cultural and social changes. The main goals of the current study were: (a) to examine gender differences in the levels of psychological distress and social support among Bedouin elders, and (b) to examine the moderating role of gender in the associations between social support indices and psychological distress. We used a cross-sectional design, and independent t-tests and hierarchical linear regression analysis were performed. The study was conducted in homes and in social clubs and community centers for elderly people and involved face-to-face interviews and self-administered questionnaires. A convenience sample of 170 Bedouin Arab elderly people living in Israel participated in the study. Participants completed self-report questionnaires that assessed psychological distress, perceived social support, instrumental social support, and socio-demographic characteristics. Male elders reported lower levels of psychological distress and higher levels of instrumental support. Female elders, who reported low levels of both perceived and instrumental support, also reported higher levels of psychological distress. Among the women, there were significant associations between psychological distress and perceived social support, and instrumental support only when the levels of support were low. This study underscores the moderating role of gender in the associations between different types of social support and psychological distress among elderly people belonging to ethnic and cultural underprivileged minority groups. Full article

Over the past four decades, there have been significant changes in workplaces around the world, including a workforce that has become more diverse as the relative proportion of women in the workforce has increased. This trend has included the increased workforce participation of women from conservative minority groups. This article discusses the significance of the integration of college-educated women from conservative minority groups into the workforce in terms of their own personal health and well-being. This work focuses on two groups of college-educated women from conservative minority groups that have joined the Israeli workforce: Ultra-Orthodox women and Bedouin Arab women. This qualitative study was based on five focus groups, which included 16 women from the two examined groups. The main themes raised in those focus groups were categorized and analyzed. The data analysis was guided by the diversity-climate approach and salutogenic theory. The research findings indicate that a diversity climate that included most of the different aspects of this approach was present in the participants’ statements regarding their workplaces. In practice, diversity climate supported sense of coherence, such that both diversity climate and a sense of coherence led directly to the occupational health of these college-educated, minority women. Full article

Brucellosis, a zoonosis mainly transmitted by consumption of unpasteurized dairy products, is endemic in Southern Israel, mainly among the Bedouin Arab population. However, the genomic epidemiology of B. melitensis in this region has not yet been elucidated. A cohort of brucellosis cases (n = 118) diagnosed between 2017–2019 was studied using whole-genome sequencing (WGS). Phylogenetic analyses utilized core genome MLST (cgMLST) for all local isolates and core genome SNPs for 347 human-associated B. melitensis genomes, including Israeli and publicly available sequences. Israeli isolates formed two main clusters, presenting a notable diversity, with no clear dominance of a specific strain. On a global scale, the Israeli genomes clustered according to their geographical location, in proximity to genomes originating from the Middle East, and formed the largest cluster in the tree, suggesting relatively high conservation. Our study unveils the genomic epidemiology of B. melitensis in Southern Israel, implicating that rather than a common source, the transmission pattern of brucellosis among Bedouin communities is complex, predominantly local, and household-based. Further, genomic surveillance of B. melitensis is expected to inform future public health and veterinary interventions and clinical care. Full article

The goal of the present paper is to provide a revaluation of the classification of the Bedouin dialects of Northern Arabia and the Southern Levant, based on published or publicly available data and on first-hand data recently collected amongst some Bedouin tribes in Northern Jordan. We suggest extending previous classifications that identify three types of dialects, namely A (ʿnizi), B (šammari), and C (šāwi). Although intermediary or mixed types combining šammari features with šāwi features were already noted, our data suggest that further combinations are possible, either because they had so far been unnoticed or because recent levelling and dialect mixing have blurred the boundaries between some of the varieties. Full article

The aim of this paper is to review the classification of the southern Moroccan dialects, advancing on the general description of these varieties. Recent descriptive studies provided us with new sources on the linguistic reality of southern Morocco, shedding light on the status of dialects commonly classified as Bedouin or ‘Hilāli’ within the Maghrebi context. To do so, the paper highlights conservative and innovative features which characterize the dialects of the area, focusing mainly—but not exclusively—on the updated data for two distant localities in southern Morocco: Essaouira and its rural outskirts—the Chiadma territory (Aquermoud and Sīdi Īsḥāq)—and Tafilalt, in south-eastern Morocco. The southern dialects have been situated in an intermediary zone between pre-Hilāli and Hilāli categories for a long time. Discussing their situation may contribute to understanding what distinguishes them as a dialectal group and also the validity of the ‘Hilāli’ category in the Moroccan context. Full article