EMEK HEFER, Israel - With eight wives and 67 children, Shahadeh
Abu Arrar has given new meaning to the term family man.
Abu Arrar, 58, is a member of Israels impoverished Bedouin Arab
community. But even in a traditional nomadic society where men
commonly have several wives and many children, Abu Arrar is
exceptional.
Im thinking about a new wife, No. 9, he told the Israeli daily
Yediot Ahronot in a recent interview. There are many women who
wish to marry me and there is no lack of women. I never had a
problem with such things.
Abu Arrar, whose oldest child is 37, was photographed by the
newspaper in a long Bedouin robe and head cover, surrounded by a
dozen of so of his kids.
During a visit to his multistory home in central Israel, The
Associated Press spotted 17 of the children milling about, dressed
in bright red, blue and green-embroidered Palestinian dresses and
headscarves. Four veiled women, including two who said they were
his wives, sat on the porch peeling vegetables.
Abu Arrar refused to talk to an AP reporter.
Bedouin society allows polygamy
While Islam allows Muslim men to have four co-wives, it is a custom
in Bedouin society to flout the already-generous ruling and an
Israeli ban on polygamy by marrying women one at a time,
divorcing them and marrying others, experts on Bedouin culture
said.
Culturally, its understood that the renounced wives are still
married to Abu Arrar, the experts said.
Its unclear how Abu Arrar supports his massive family. Camels,
goats and a cow were grazing on his property. Yediot said he also
receives about $1,700 in government handouts each month.
According to the Israeli Interior Ministry, Abu Arrar has 53
children registered as Israeli citizens. He has 14 other children
born to Palestinian wives in the West Bank and who are not eligible
for Israeli citizenship, his other wives said.
Either way, his family size pales in comparison to the size of the
average Israeli family: 2.3, according to the Israeli Central
Bureau of Statistics.
Splits time among wives
Abu Arrar claims to remember all his childrens names, and says
they are split almost evenly between boys and girls. And hes still
going strong.
My first wife is my age, and today I hardly spend any time with
her. Her children are big, and I leave her alone. I have younger
wives to spend time with. Every night I decide which wife to be
with, Abu Arrar told the newspaper.
Activists said Abu Arrars story showed the urgency of raising
literacy and education among Bedouin women. Many are pressured into
marriage or feel they have no other options beside raising
children, said Khadra al-Sani, director of Sidra, a Bedouin womens
rights group.
Brewer Offers Lifetime supply of beer for missing laptop that
contains experimental reports
WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A New Zealand brewer is offering a
lifetime supply of free beer in exchange for the return of a laptop
stolen in a break-in.
Croucher Brewing Co. co-owner Paul Croucher said Friday the
computer contains all our financials as well as label designs for
new beers and business contacts.
So we decided that if anyone does come into possession of it well
be happy to offer them a reward a dozen (bottles) of beer a month
for the rest of their life, he said.
Croucher estimated the total value would likely be about $19,500
for a lifetime of beer. Since making the offer, plenty of people
had called to say they were looking for the computer, he
said.
Opportunistic kids and a flimsy padlock resulted in the theft, he
said.
Coucher said he was optimistic the free beer offer would lead to
the return of the stolen computer. Wed love it back. Were at
such a critical stage in our little business that every hit like
that is quite big, he said.
The microbrewery in the central North Island tourist town of
Rotorua currently ships 160 gallons of its three beers an
English-style pale ale, Czech-style pilsner and a cloudy German
wheat beer each week.
New Zealand winemaker Montana called to warn the brewery owners to
make sure the terms of their free beer reward were precise. The
winery had a difficult legal wrangle with the winner of an offer of
five years free wine who tried to extend the supply.
