Graduates

Mandel Program for Regional Leadership in Kseifa and Arara BaNegev

OCTOBER 2018 – AUGUST 2020

Alaa Abu Aiysh

Director of the Authority for Combating Violence, Drugs and Alcohol in Lakiya

Alaa Abu Aiysh is the director of the Authority for Combating Violence, Drugs and Alcohol in Lakiya. She facilitates groups on safety for children and youth in high schools. She is also a social activist raising awareness about the harmful effects of drugs and alcohol among youth in the Bedouin community. Alaa holds a bachelor’s degree in social work from Ashkelon College. She is married with one child, and lives in Kseifa.

Amin Abu Sayah

Director of the Youth Department, Kseifa Local Council

Amin Abu Sayah is the director of the Kseifa Local Council's youth department. In this capacity, he oversees informal education and cultural education in Kseifa and the surrounding region. A social activist and educator, Amin holds a bachelor’s degree in behavioral science from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and a master’s degree in organizational consulting from Ono Academic College. He lives in Al-Fur'a.

Abed Abu-Arar

Teacher and National Director of Volunteer Network

Abed Abu-Arar is the national director of the volunteer network of AJEEC-NISPED (the Arab-Jewish Center for Empowerment, Equality, and Cooperation / the Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Development). Previously, he was a member of the founding team of the AMAL technological high school in Arara BaNegev, where he taught Hebrew, and was principal of the Dror high school in Ramla. A graduate of Avney Rosha – The Israel Institute for School Leadership, Abed holds a bachelor’s degree in literature and history of the Jewish people and in special education from Sapir College, and a master’s degree in educational management and administration from the Center for Academic Studies in Or Yehuda. He is married and a father of four, and lives in Arara BaNegev.

Kamal Abu-Haduba

School Principal and Social Activist

Kamal Abu-Haduba is the principal of the elementary and junior high schools in Abu Talul, and is also a social activist and member of the Abu Talul local council. Kamal holds master’s degrees in management and conflict resolution, in educational counseling, and in educational management, all from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. He is a graduate of Avney Rosha – The Israel Institute for School Leadership, and lives in Abu Talul.

Amir Al-Amuor

Special Education Coordinator and Social Activist

Amir Al-Amuor is a special education coordinator for schools on behalf of the Ministry of Education’s Special Education Regional Support Center in Hura. He also serves as a volunteer ambulance driver and medic for Magen David Adom. Amir holds a bachelor’s degree in education, with a concentration in special education, from the Kaye Academic College of Education, and a master’s degree in managerial consulting from Ono Academic College. He is married and a father of three, and lives in Kseifa.

Ali Al-Anami

Director of Pre-Primary Education, Neve Midbar Regional Council

Ali Al-Anami is the director of Pre-Primary Education of the Neveh Midbar Regional Council and chairman of the council’s workers’ union. He has taught in various public schools, and is a graduate of Avney Rosha – The Israel Institute for School Leadership. Ali holds a master’s degree in management and conflict resolution from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Married and a father of five, he lives in Abu Qrinat.

Kefah Alsaid

High School Principal in Alsaid

Kefah Alsaid is the principal of the ORT technological high school in Alsaid. A local social activist and volunteer, she develops informal education projects at the Multidisciplinary Center for Youth and Young Adults in Alsaid, including leadership programs, employment guidance, Hebrew language training, and more. Kefah holds a bachelor’s degree in Hebrew literature from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and a master’s degree in public administration and public policy from Sapir College. Married and a mother of two, she lives in Hura.

Dr. Farhan Alsana

Physician, Head of the Southern District Health Bureau, Ministry of Health

Farhan Alsana is a physician and head of the Southern District Health Bureau of the Ministry of Health. He works to promote health in the Negev, with an emphasis on the Negev’s Bedouin population. Farhan is a member of various health committees of the Ministry of Health. He is the chairman of the Committee of Southern District Physicians of the Organization of State-Employed Physicians, a member of the Israel Medical Association, and a member of the Association of Public Health Physicians. Farhan is co-author of numerous medical articles and works in clinical medicine as a family physician. A graduate of the University of Bologna, Italy, he is a public health expert with a master’s degree in public health from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. He is married and a father of six, and lives in Lakiya.

Mohamed Alshiech

Psychologist for the Tel Sheva Educational Psychology Service

Mohamed Alshiech is an educational psychologist for the Tel Sheva Educational Psychology Service, and provides psychological services to elementary schools and kindergartens. He is the founder and director of the Shams Center for Educational Diagnosis and Treatment, which serves school students in Tel Sheva and neighboring communities, and provides social and emotional support workshops for adults in the area. He is also the co-founder and deputy director of Alnabras, a nonprofit organization for the advancement of education and mental health in the Bedouin sector in the Negev. Mohamed holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Moscow and a master’s degree in social and occupational psychology from Kazan Federal University, and is a graduate of the PresenTense program for social enterprise management. He was born in Tel Sheva, where he lives today.

Rihab Azbarga

Civics Teacher

Rihab Azbarga is a civics teacher at the Alnoor high school in Rahat. Previously, she worked in informal education at the Arara BaNegev community center, and provided health training on behalf of various organizations promoting public health in Bedouin society. Rihab holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and sociology, and a teaching diploma from the Teach First Israel program. She lives in Kseifa.

Shefa Elhwashla

English Teacher, Coordinator of Academic Excellence, and Social Activist

Shefa Elhwashla teaches English at the Abu Talul high school, where she also coordinates a program to prepare gifted youth for academia, and serves as the advisor for the student council. She is a social activist in education and a member of the "Go Public" community. Shefa is also a member of a community for the development of effective communication and public speaking. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English teaching from Achva College, and lives in the unrecognized Bedouin village of Al-Rarah.

Salamah Ibn Khzahel

Director of the City without Violence Program, Neve Midbar Regional Council

Salamah Ibn Khzahel is a teacher and a coordinator of social education and career education at the high school in Bir Hadaj. He is also the local director of the “City without Violence” program and local coordinator of the Anti-Drug Authority for the Neve Midbar Regional Council. Salama is also a community activist and a volunteer medic for Magen David Adom. He holds a bachelor’s degree in humanities and social sciences from Sapir College, and a master’s degree in organizational consulting from Ono Academic College. Married and a father of four, Salamah lives in Bir Hadaj.

Walaa Khaliliha

Language Teacher, Social Worker, and Poet

Walaa Khaliliha lectures and leads therapeutic workshops for personal empowerment through drama, culture, education, and teaching. She is in her second year of the Teach First Israel program, where she is in the language teaching track. As part of the program, she is working as a language teacher in an elementary school. Walaa is the deputy director of the Jordanian poets’ association, and is a social activist in the field of culture and education. Previously, she coordinated and ran shelters for youth at risk. Walaa holds a bachelor’s degree in social work from Al-Balqa' Applied University in Jordan.

Abed Maabdeh

Home-Room Teacher, Geography Teacher, and Computer Science Teacher

Abed Maabdeh teaches geography and computer science and is a coordinator at the Al-Resala elementary school in Tel Sheva. He also serves as an instructor in a Ministry of Education project designed to encourage excellence in science and computer studies. Abed holds a master’s degree in Middle Eastern studies from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. He is married and lives in Al-Fur’a.

About The Program