Graduates

Mandel Program for Local Leadership in Wadi al-Khalil

OCTOBER 2015 – JUNE 2017

Manal Abo Karan

Employment trainer, Beer Sheva Employment and Welfare Bureau

Manal Abo Karan, a mother of five, lives in Lakiya. She is studying for her bachelor’s degree in social work at Bethlehem University, and has trained in personal coaching and group mediation. She works as an employment trainer at the Beer Sheva Employment and Welfare Bureau.

Mervat Abu Aduba

Social involvement coordinator, Rahat Center for Young Adults

Mervat Abu Aduba lives in Wadi Samar, an unrecognized village to the south of Rahat. She is a master’s student in political science and international relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Mervat coordinates the social involvement and volunteering activities at the Rahat Center for Young Adults and is a social activist in the field of education.

Wafa Abu Ammar

Director of youth division, Wadi al-Khalil Local Authority

Wafa Abu Ammar is a resident of Lakiya. She is the director of the youth division of the Wadi al-Khalil local council and has seven years’ professional experience in the field of education. Wafa holds a bachelor’s degree in health administration and is a local community activist working with youth in Lakiya.

Adel Abu Sbeeh

Director of youth division, Wadi al-Khalil Local Authority

Adel Abu Sbeeh lives in Albaat, near Kuseife. A social activist in his village and throughout Bedouin society, he is a building practical engineer, director of the medicinal herbs division at Project Wadi Attir and works as an informal education projects’ coordinator under the auspices of the Al-Kasom Regional Council. Adel instructs financial independence workshops for high school boys. He holds a BA in Mathematics Teaching.

Yaakov Abu-Blal

Social worker in the welfare branch, Neve Midbar Local Authority

Yaakov Abu-Blal is a married father of four and a resident of Rahat. He works in the Neve Midbar local council’s welfare division as director of a welfare branch, as a social worker for children and youth at risk, as a coordinator of client evaluation and treatment planning committees and as coordinator of the local resilience team project. Yaakov has launched several community projects, including a project for parents of at-risk children, a group for normative youth, and groups for at-risk youth. He holds a master’s degree in social work from Tel Aviv University, with a specialization in group moderation.

Adam Alhoashleh, z"l

Social activist

Adam Alhoashleh is a resident of the unrecognized Bedouin settlement al-‘Ara, married and a father of four. A lawyer by profession, he directs a law firm in Beer Sheva. He has been involved in coordinating and directing social projects, and in planning and development efforts in Bedouin society in the Negev. He directed the Negev Arab Education Forum and, as a social activist, is currently involved in several social initiatives. Adam holds a bachelor’s degree in law from Hertfordshire University in the UK and a master’s degree in law from Tel Aviv University.

Luminita Alkatnani

Facilitator of women's groups in Rahat

Luminita Alkatnani, a married mother of four, was born in Romania and lives in Rahat. She is the coordinator of early childcare frameworks, and also leads women’s discussion, study and support groups. Luminita set up and directed the Hura Child Development Unit. She holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology and social work.

Dr. Abed Almuati Alsaed

Social activist

Dr. Abed Almuati Alsaed was born and lives in Al-Sayed, a settlement close to Hura. He is married and a father of four. A dentist with practices in Hura and in Beer Sheva, Dr. Alsaed is a member of the Israel Union of Dentists, chairman of the Al-Sayed Parents’ Association and an active member of the Al-Sayed Residents’ Committee.

Ismael Alnbary

Teacher and social activist

Ismael Alnbary lives in Hura, where he teaches physics and is head of physics studies in the local high school. He helps develop research-based study programs and is interested in developing new forms of teaching, such as those based on constructivist learning and higher-order learning. Ismael is active in the Ahad non-profit organization for advancing Arab society in the Negev. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s degree in education.

Khaled El-Sana

Deputy head, Lakiya Local Council

Khaled El-Sana is the former head of the Lakiya local council, and now deputy head of the council, holding the council’s engineering portfolio. Previously, he taught in Tel Sheva. Khaled is a member of the Lakiya Community Center non-profit and a social activist working to promote education in the village.

Lin Hawari

Social worker, Tel Sheva Local Council

Lin Hawari is a Beer Sheva resident and a mother of two. She is employed by the Social Services Division of the Tel Sheva local council as a social worker for children and youth at risk and as a project coordinator. She holds a bachelor’s degree in social work and psychology from Bethlehem University.

Areej Hlailh-Mahammed

Social worker, Hura Local Council

Areej Hlailh-Mahammed is a resident of Beer Sheva, married and mother to a daughter. She is a social worker in the Social Services Division of the Hura local council. Areej is politically and socially active in Arab society in Israel. She holds a master’s degree in social work from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

Khader Mahdi

Social activist

Khader Mahdi lives in Ar’ara BaNegev. A married father of three, he is a lawyer by profession and has managed a law firm in Beer Sheva for the last 12 years. He holds a master’s degree in law. Khader is a social activist and a former local council member, and is now chairman of the Negev Association of Arab Lawyers and of the Association of Volunteers in the Negev Bedouin Community on Legal and Social Issues.

Yunis Nbare

Director-general, Wadi Attir Project

Yunis Nbare is a resident of Hura, married and a father of six. He is the director-general of the Wadi Attir Project and a founding member of the Wadi Attir non-profit organization for social-economic development of the area. He is one of the Negev Fellows for Society and the Environment, a member of the Negev Leaders Forum and a member of the Joe Alon Center’s Ramon Strategic Thinking Forum. Yunis is a public representative on the Hura local council and is a social activist and volunteer in several social-economic initiatives in the Bedouin community. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

Iemad Nsassra

Social worker, Tel Sheva Local Council

Iemad Nsassra is a resident of Kuseife and works for the Ministry of Culture and Sport as Southern Region supervisor of sport administration (Arab sector). He volunteers on behalf of the Adam Teva V’Din environmental non-profit. Iemad holds a bachelor’s degree from the Kaye Academic College of Education Institute of Physical Education and a master’s degree in public health administration from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

Gavrel Sayed

Social activist

Gavrel Sayed is a resident of Al-Sayed, married and a father of three. He teaches in the Ar’ara BaNegev high school and teaches spoken Arabic to workers' organizations in the Jewish sector. Gavrel is active in social organizations promoting coexistence, and arranges local tourism groups. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Arabic from the Kaye Academic College of Education and a master’s degree in educational management from the Kibbutzim College of Education.

About The Program