Israel struggling to combat polygamy in Bedouin society

The Israeli police are concerned about the extent of polygamy within the Bedouin society of the Negev, a practice forbidden by law but still widespread. Investigators from the special unit of the southern district police report particularly extreme cases, sometimes involving Palestinian women from the West Bank or the Gaza Strip.

One of the recent cases concerns an 83-year-old sheikh, a well-known figure in Rahat. "He is said to have an enormous number of wives: 16. We have been able to identify nine," explains Chief Warrant Officer Elinor Dahan, head of the unit in charge of polygamy. Among them, five are Palestinian: two from the Gaza Strip and three from the Hebron area. The man has a total of 45 children. Another public figure is currently under investigation and, according to the police, is believed to have four wives.

According to Yehuda Kafah, who i24NEWS interviewed, the practice reaches particularly significant proportions in Bedouin society. "Polygamy is a criminal offense in Israel," Kafah says, claiming that nearly 50% of men in the Bedouin community of the Negev are married to more than one woman.

Behind these figures are also particularly difficult social situations. Some women are minors and married to much older men. Investigations sometimes reveal physical and sexual violence, while some wives are not even aware that their husband has remarried.

An Israeli is currently under investigation after marrying a second woman without his first wife's knowledge. This week, another man was arrested at Ben-Gurion airport as he was returning from his honeymoon with his second wife, whose existence was unknown to the first.

The phenomenon also raises security concerns. In a report published in April, the State Comptroller warned against the process of “Palestinization,” which he characterized as an increasing Palestinian national identification and a growing detachment from Israel among part of the Bedouin population of the Negev. The report particularly drew a link with marriages between Israeli Bedouins and Palestinian women.

Since the creation of the specialized unit of the southern district police, around 200 cases of polygamy have been handled. But the penalties remain largely ineffective as a deterrent, with prison sentences generally not exceeding a few months, after which the men involved return to their families and their status within their community.