Negev in 2005. The $600 million project hopes to continue Israel's past environmental successes in 'making the desert bloom' and attract 500,000 new Jewish residents to the Negev by improving transportation infrastructure, establishing businesses, developing water resources and introducing programs to protect the environment. A planned artificial desert river, swimming pools and golf courses raised concerns among environmentalists. Critics oppose those plans, calling instead for an inclusive plan for the green vitalization of existing population centers, investment in Bedouin villages, clean-up of toxic industries and development of job options for the unemployed. A major Israel Defense Forces training base is being
Negev Bedouin women power, but the vital economic roles of the women granted them significant degree of influence over the household decision-making. However, the larger societal context of Bedouin culture is changing, particularly in the Negev. For the past several decades, the policy of the Israeli government has been to move the Negev Bedouin from the desert to official settlements. This has had several significant effects on Negev Bedouin society. Significantly, the move from a nomadic lifestyle to a sedentary one has displaced the Bedouin women from their previously critical economic roles. Moreover, the shift to a sedentary lifestyle means that wage labor