Igal Igal

Happy Birthday, Israel – A Shout Out to Feminist Powerhouses

On its 67th birthday, congratulations to 67 of the women who make Israel great. We especially honor those from the Negev Bedouin community, Dr. Sarab Abu Rabia-Queder, Dr. Rania El Okby, and Amal Elsana Alh’jooj. May you go from strength to strength.
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Igal Igal

You’re Invited: Meeting of Social Workers and Youth Counselors

Save the Date – for the next meeting of social workers and youth counselors. (Hebrew follows.)
– Where: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Department of Social Work
– When: Sunday, April 26th
– Who: You

A partnership of A New Dawn in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the

Negev, and the Haruv Institute.

תוכנית המפגש 26.4.2015 :
אוניברסיטת בן גוריון, המחלקה לעבודה סוציאלית, בניין 17 חדר 203.

9:00-9:30 התכנסות
9:30-11:30 הזהות שלי, שבטיות והמשפחה הפוליגמית
11:30-12:00 הפסקת צהריים
12:00-14:00 דיון ועיבוד התכנים

Questions? Jamal Alkirnawi: [email protected].

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Igal Igal

Cody’s Blog: Celebrating Passover in Israel

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Celebrating Passover in Israel for the First Time
Passover holiday ended this week, and it has been very enriching. The only bad thing this week was that the sunny and abundant heat has been replaced with damp and cold. I didn’t do any extreme travelling, mainly just along the coast, to the city and a lot of chilling and hanging out with friends (my photo of the beach is below). But probably the highlight of celebrating the Pesach (Passover) holiday here in Israel was my ability to observe it completely (completely, for me).
In America, I have never been very observant of Passover, outside of a not-very-religious-Passover-seder. [The seder is the dinner ceremony in which Jews celebrate Passover with friends and family. In Israel, Jews usually hold a ritual seder on the first, second, and final nights of the holiday.]
Here in Israel, the seder I choose to participate in was religious, complete with karpas (parsley), maror (bitter herbs), the Four Questions, wine, and everything. I almost questioned if I would feel too out of place, but it was a great experience and it confirmed my belief that the people at Chabad are very welcoming to all denominations and levels of observance. Now I am proud to say I  am familiar with the religious aspect of the seder.
Here, even if you did not want to observe Pesach you are kind of forced too. The chametz [bread product] aisles are closed off (see photo below) and many restaurants are closed too. Of course, if you have a Tiv Tam [Russian grocery store that does not abide by the usual codes of what it is acceptable to sell in Israel, i.e. non-kosher food products], you can go ahead and break the rules [and eat bread].
Also, here in Israel there is not only the hard matza (the only thing largely available in my area in USA). There are many K+ soft and fresh matzot products available, and you can even find pizza places that are Kosher L’Pesach. In Texas I go without- and in my case, suffer – because I am large bread eater, but here there are options that, while not as tasty, at least imitate a normal piece of bread.
April 2015 is full of memorial and holidays.
This Thursday I am going to Yad Vashem for Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day). Next week, Israel will commemorate Yom HaZikaron (Veteran’s Day), and celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut (Independence Day). I think Yom Hashoah will be very moving and possibly depressing, but I hope it ends on a inspiring note. The Palestinian Nakba Day is on May 15.
Volunteering in Rahat
At my work in addition to my routine, we did have some delegation visits including a visit of American High School students to the Bedouin students in Rahat. My project tour continues in its design stage and time is flying so fast it is no longer so clear when will be the first launch date.
Leadership Summit
I was also selected to be a participant in the Masa Israel Leadership Summit. It was a full week in Jerusalem, with room and board provided, to connect young people from around the world and provide “leadership seminars”. I made friends from Mexico, Brazil, Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, France, and India, but even more countries than that were represented. (We are pictured in the title photo at the top of this post.)
My time here in Israel with A New Dawn in the Negev has been invaluable and as my end date comes quicker, the quicker time truly flies.
Photos:
Spring is here and the flowers are blossoming in the community garden near my apartment.
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In Israel, all of the chametz (bread products) are covered in the grocery stores during Passover.
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The bright blue Mediterranean sea. 
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Shared with permission from Cody’s blog: Texas to the Negev. See his original post here.
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Igal Igal

A New Dawn Recognized for Good Deeds Day (Panet: Arabic)

A New Dawn’s activities for Good deeds day /יום מעשים טובים/ يوم الأعمال الخيريةwere featured today in موقع بانيت Panet.

Thanks again to Shari Arison and מכון מרחבים Merchavim Institute معهد مجالات for your support.

Full text in Arabic is below.

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أعمال خيرية وتطوعية في مدينة رهط

موقع بانيت وصحيفة بانوراما
أقامت جمعية “الفجر الجديد” في رهط وشبيبة مشروع “المستقبل الآمن” يوماً مميزاً للأعمال الخيرية والتطوعية بالشراكة مع بلدية رهط وقسم الرفاه الاجتماعي،

حيث تم القيام بأعمال تطوعية متنوعة لخدمة مدينة رهط قامت مجموعة الشبيبة باعمال تطوعية لادخال السرور على قلًب أطفال رهط خاصةً وأبناء النقب عامةً، حيث شمل هذا اليوم أعمال تنظيف ، دهان وصيانة بيوت مستورة في رهط.

وفي نهاية اليوم قام أبناء المشروع ” المستقبل الآمن ” مع المرشدين إسلام القريناوي ورباح العمور بتوزيع الهدايا على جميع الأطفال في قسم الأطفال في مستشفى سوروكا ، وذلك تعاطفاً معهم ولرسم البسمة على وجوههم .

وقد عقب مدير الجمعية جمال القريناوي على هذا اليوم قائلاً: “أحد الاهداف لهذا المشروع وإحدى القيم التي نتطلع اليها في مجتمعنا الرهطاوي خاصةً والنقباوي عامةً هي العمل لأجل المجتمع، وأن نأخذ دورنا دائما في الأعمال الخيرية وغرس قيمة العطاء في نفوسهم والحرص على الإحساس بالإنتماء لبلدنا الحبيب ومجتمعنا ككل “.

كما واثنى مدير الجمعية بالشكر لكل من مركزي ومنظمي المشروع المرشدين الذين قاما على التخطيط لهذا اليوم إسلام القريناوي ورباح العمور وبذلا كل الجهد لإنجاح هذا اليوم.

ولم ينس رئيس الجمعية “فضل الشبيبة في مشروع المستقبل الآمن وبلدية رهط عامةً وقسم الرفاه الاجتماعي خاصة الذين لولا جهودهم وعطاءهم لما إستطعنا تحقيق غايتنا”.

من الجدير بالذكر ان هذا المشروع تم بتمويل مؤسسة التأمين الوطني التي قدمت يد العون والدعم الجزيل لانجاح هذا المشروع الطيب.

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Photo credit: Andrew James Ferris.
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Igal Igal

Join Us on LinkedIn

Welcome back from spring break. A New Dawn is now on LinkedIn. Have a profile? Follow our page and come say hello.
LinkedIn is a social network platform for sharing professional connections.
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Igal Igal

Happy Passover!

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 Wishing you and your families lovely spring holidays. Hag Sameach for everyone celebrating Passover and Easter in Israel and around the world. Blessings for peace be upon us. חג שמח أعيادا سعيدة
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Igal Igal

Music Education for Bedouin Children – It’s Almost Time

It’s spring in the Negev and A New Dawn in the Negev is about to launch its Sarab: Strings of Change, its classical music education program for Bedouin children.
Our music studio at the Alsalam Elementary School in Rahat, Israel is almost complete.
Here we are: so excited to see all the progress that has been done.

(Left to right: Jacob (Yaki) Reuven, director of the Beer Sheva Music Conservatory; Jamal Alkirnawi, executive director of A New Dawn in the Negev; Omer Meir Wellber, famous Israeli composer.)
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The pink looks nice. This is the main room where the children will have their theory education and learn about musical history before starting their lessons.
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The soundproofing really works. Both Yaki and Omer said, “Okay, tell him to yell now.” They couldn’t hear each other at all.
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We’re lucky to find a home at the Alsalam Elementary School. Pictured here with the assistant principal (who taught Jamal when he was a boy).
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 We even have a new logo. It really is time to start.
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Many thanks to Andrew James Ferris, our photographer. For all the photos in the set, visit the full album on our Facebook page.
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Igal Igal

New Partnership with Masa Israel Teaching Fellows

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We’re thrilled to announce a new partnership with the Masa Israel Teaching Fellows and BINA: Social Justice and Pluralistic Judaism in Israel. And best of all? It’s free!

What’s It All About?

Spend 10 months teaching English in Israel alongside global change makers working in the cedouin Community of Rahat with Israeli Bedouin youth. A New Dawn together with BINA offers this amazing teaching fellowship in the Negev Desert where you will be immersed in the Bedouin culture and Arab community while creating ties of coexistence between all residents of the Negev.

A New Dawn in the Negev and Bina are selecting 10 outstanding college graduates to become Israel Teaching Fellows for the 10-month session starting in Fall 2015. Participants serve as hands-on educators in classrooms and in small group settings. As Fellows in a public school system, you are not just there to teach, but serve as leaders in opening the world to the Bedouin community and creating a better place to live, learn, play, and grow for everyone.

Learn More:
– Volunteering with A New Dawn and the Israel Teaching Fellows
– Israel Teaching Fellows in Rahat – Sign Up Now
– Other ways to volunteer with A New Dawn

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Igal Igal

Join Us for Good Deeds Day (March 24th in Rahat)

Many hands make for light work. Young women from our Youth at Risk Program getting ready for Good Deeds Day/יום מעשים טובים by preparing gift packs for children in Soroka Medical Center.
The Plan:
Join us next Tuesday, March 24th for Good Deeds Day in Rahat.

We will be painting houses for families in need and visiting Soroka Medical Center to spend time with sick children in the pediatric ward.

A bus will be provided from Rahat to Beer Sheva – please register in advance to confirm your participation by contacting: [email protected] (Arabic, Hebrew, English).

Will you join us? Click here to learn more.
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Igal Igal

Andrew Ferris: Welcoming Back an Old Friend

We are so glad to welcome back Andrew James Ferris to A New Dawn in the Negev. Andrew is our past program director and played a major role in A New Dawn’s establishment. A photographer and filmmaker, Andrew specializes in digital storytelling.

You’ll always have a home with us here in the Negev, Andrew.

Learn more about Andrew’s work at his website, Falling Satellite Productions.

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