The Jerusalem governorate is home to a seminomadic Bedouin population of approximately 7,000 people. Since the 1950s, they have lived across 32 localities in the governorate’s hinterlands and East Jerusalem.1 Originally from southern Palestine, where they lived for 14 centuries, the Bedouin were displaced by Israel during the 1948 War and subjected to subsequent waves of internal displacement.2 Today, the Bedouin of Jerusalem continue to face numerous threats, including expulsion and attacks on their way of life (see The Bedouin of Jerusalem).
Jerusalem’s Palestinian Bedouin are descendants of pastoral nomads and herders, particularly members of the Jahalin tribe who lived across the northern Negev desert.3 When Israel occupied Palestinian territories in 1948, the vast majority of the Negev Bedouin population fled to neighboring areas, such as Jordan, the Sinai, and Gaza.4 Many Jahalin Bedouin were displaced to the West Bank, then under Jordanian rule, including areas east of Jerusalem, where they established communities. Others settled in the hills east of Jerusalem, including areas near Khan al-Ahmar, and integrated economically with nearby Palestinian towns such as ‘Anata and Abu Dis.5 The portion of the population that remained in the Negev desert was later forcibly moved by the Israeli military to a restricted enclosed zone in the northeastern Negev known as the Siyag.6
Before their displacement, the Bedouin’s lifestyle centered on seasonal grazing, traditional agriculture, and customary land management. Families raised sheep, goats, and camels, and grew barley and wheat in rain-fed areas. Therefore, their movement followed seasonal rainfall patterns and access to natural water wells across the desert. Some families also entered into arrangements with local landowners to use land for grazing, residence, or cultivation. This pastoral economy required communities to adapt their movements to changing environmental conditions and negotiate access to land and resources.7
This way of life was reflected in Bedouin social and political organization, which was largely structured around clans and tribes (‘ashira).8 Since Bedouin communities generally organized themselves through tribal structures rather than state institutions, they maintained a significant degree of autonomy. Tribal leaders and sheikhs played a central role in coordinating migration routes and grazing rights. They represented their communities and resolved disputes through customary mechanisms of mediation, compensation, and retribution.9 While customary law helped maintain the social order and regulate relations between families, competition over land and water resources could at times lead to raiding (ghazwa) between tribes.10
Bedouin cultural traditions and social customs were also shaped by their communal life, placing great value on principles of honor, hospitality, and mutual solidarity. Extended family and kinship ties formed the foundation of social life, while marriage served not only as a personal union but also as an important means of strengthening relationships and alliances between families and tribes. As such, weddings were major communal occasions involving extended family, food, music, dancing, and games. Traditional clothing also reflected Bedouin identity, with men commonly wearing jellabiyya (long robes) and head coverings (shemagh) and women wearing the abaya and distinctive jewelry. Women historically wove important household textiles from herds, such as the black goat-hair tent (bayt al-sha‘r, which translates to “house of hair”).11
This Photo Album offers a glimpse into these different aspects of Bedouin life in and around Jerusalem, along with historic Palestine. From 17th-century paintings illustrating Bedouin presence in the hills surrounding Jerusalem, through early images of Bedouin farmers selling their products inside the Old City, and finally to more recent images of continued forced displacement in occupied East Jerusalem, this Photo Album traces the tumultuous journey of a nomadic people expelled from their lands whose mobility has been severed and presence constrained in an ever-shrinking space.