(Nov. 3, 2024 / JNS) Israel held its first-ever state-sanctioned camel race on Friday in the country’s South, with thousands of spectators in attendance to support the competitors.

The event, held near Ashalim and about 22 miles south of Beersheva, was organized by the local Bedouin community, in conjunction with the Ramat HaNegev Regional Council, the Diaspora Affairs Ministry, the Agriculture Ministry and the Ministry for the Development of the Negev and the Galilee. 

“Every year, several illegal [camel] races are held, some of them in military zones, which endangers both the riders and the supporters—to say nothing of the bad reputation it gives to the [Bedouin community],” Dr. Mazen Abu Siam, the veterinarian from Rahat overseeing the event, told reporters.