Solidarity in the Shadows: Bedouin Support for Undocumented Migrant Workers in Israel
摘要
The article describes ethical, cultural, and social aspects of solidarity, expressed by social workers from Bedouin society in Israel in their work with undocumented Palestinian migrant workers. A qualitative study employed in-depth interviews with 18 Bedouin social workers, investigating their experiences of solidarity as a moral act performed in the shadows. Although often in contradiction to Israeli law, these acts are inspired by a profound commitment to religious, traditional, and community values. The findings exposed five main themes: solidarity as a moral-religious value, moral dilemmas due to conflict between the law and their conscience, clandestine assistance practices, strategies to cope with risk and pressure, and implications for their trust in institutions and community cohesion. The interviewees described how they enlist community resources, doctors, lawyers, and employers to help the migrants, often incurring personal risk. The article highlights the tension between the demands of national law and moral and cultural values of solidarity and suggests that the social workers are moral agents who oscillate between loyalty to the state and a community mission. This analysis exposes mechanisms of quiet resistance and maintenance of community cohesion in times of conflict.