On the evening of June 15, 2016, a group from the Mandel Program for Local Leadership in Wadi el-Khalil met at the Joe Alon Bedouin Heritage Center in the Lahav Forest for an Iftar meal to break the Ramadan fast. The steering committee of the Wadi al-Khalil program and staff of the Mandel Center for Leadership in the Negev attended the event, which was organized and facilitated by program fellows.
During the evening, participants read texts about values connected with the Ramadan fast, such as compassion, solidarity, and tolerance. At the start of the event, program fellow Lin Hawary, who organized the event together with fellow Iemad Nsassra, explained: "The month of fasting is not merely abstinence from food and drink, but a symbol of something deeper. For us, the fast is an opportunity to rethink our world view and consider acts from which we wish to 'fast' and to refrain from those actions. It is also a time in which each individual contemplates his or her ethical priorities."
The meal provided an opportunity for the fellows and members of the steering committee members to become personally acquainted with one another and to think together about the leadership challenges of developing quality of life in the Negev.
