The Association of Forty

	*The Association of Forty* - the association for the recognition of the Arab Unrecognized Villages in Israel, was formally established in 1988 in the Unrecognized Village Ein-Hod, by the local committee of the village, by the inhabitants of unrecognized villages and also by Arab and Jewish Volunteers from all over the country.
	The plight of the Arab Unrecognized Villages first began in 1948 with the establishment of the State of Israel. Even though these Arab Villages existed tens and hundreds of years ago, The Israeli consecutive governments ignored the existence of these villages and the inhabitants were denied their rights as citizens of the country. Since this time, these villages have not appeared on any map and there is still no plan for their development.
	As a result of this unrecognizing, the villages are still lack the basic infrastructure: Today, there are approximately 100,000 people who are dispossessed or denied any basic services such as running water, electricity, proper education and health services and access roads - constituting a gross violation of human rights and opposing the values of a modern and democratic state.
	The attempts of the inhabitants of the villages to achieve by their own the basic human conditions lead to strong counter-reactions from the government, which include victims of forced evacuation, trails and demolition order. These counter-reactions aim to put the inhabitant under pressure to be evacuated from their place. This reality prevents from the inhabitants the possibility to hold a normal way of life according to the basic standards.
	The Association of Forty is a grassroots non-governmental organization in Israel. It has committed itself to the promotion of social justice in the Arab sector in Israel, and to gaining recognition for the unrecognized villages in this sector.