{"id":3187,"date":"2024-12-30T12:45:40","date_gmt":"2024-12-30T10:45:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nomikan.com\/?p=3187"},"modified":"2025-01-09T17:37:35","modified_gmt":"2025-01-09T15:37:35","slug":"anyone-who-lives-in-the-negev-cannot-help-but-be-filled-with-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nomikan.com\/?p=3187","title":{"rendered":"Anyone who lives in the Negev desert cannot help but be filled with hope"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I have had the great privilege of writing a documentary book about the development of Project<\/strong> Wadi Attir <\/strong> and its evolution over the years. The project is a joint initiative of the Bedouin community in the Negev and the Sustainability Laboratory based in New York<\/strong>. I have another privilege \u2013 to share with you the wonderful story, and the good people I met, who continue to work and plan years ahead, even during this difficult period that the State of Israel is going through.
On December 19th<\/sup>\u00a0 the project celebrated its 17th anniversary at a large-scale event, with many of the people who contributed to its existence.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

But before the celebration, let's take a brief look at the beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
Duck swimming in water pool \/ Wadi Atir \/ Negev \/ Israel <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Look closely at the picture. What is special about it? It seems like an unremarkable photo, a duck peacefully swimming in a lake . This is not even a photo taken by a professional photographer. We have seen better photos than this. Still, I chose to start with it. \u00a0
Why?
What makes this picture special are the things that are not visible in it, such as the fact that the "lake" is nothing more than a pool of water in an arid desert area of \u200b\u200bthe Negev, in southern Israel, in Project Wadi Attir Project<\/strong> near the Bedouin town of Hura<\/strong>. The duck, the tree branches, and of course the water itself, which was collected from rainwater, are not typical of the area. The irrigation pipes suggest that there is a human hand in this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
\u05e6\u05d9\u05dc\u05d5\u05dd: \u05d8\u05dc\u05d0\u05dcPhoto: Talal Al-Nabary \u05d0\u05dc\u05e0\u05d1\u05d0\u05e8\u05d9 <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
from a bird's eye view<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The duck presence in the place is the result of a tremendous and long-term effort by Dr.<\/strong> Michael Ben-Eli<\/strong>, founder of the Sustainability Laboratory in New York<\/strong>, and Dr. Muhammad Al-Nabari<\/strong>, who was then the head of the Hura<\/strong> Municipal Council, and today heads several associations for the advancement of the Bedouins in the Negev. Two dreamers who believed that change was possible and set themselves a goal – to<\/strong> establish a project that combines long-standing Bedouin tradition with innovation, based on a holistic concept of sustainability, showcasing an approach to<\/strong> sustainable development and including community, environmental, technological and economic aspects. The project demonstrates the principles of sustainability as developed by the Sustainability Laboratory, and this is its uniqueness.<\/strong> Michael and Mohammed, the "crazy duo" as they are affectionately called and held in great esteem by their partners on the journey, managed to assemble for to the task many forces, private and institutional, and create full cooperation between Jews and Bedouins, between different Bedouin tribes, between Bedouin men and women working together with woman in management positions, between government ministries and the cumbersome public administration systems, raise funds from sponsors, and implement their plans.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

On the right is Dr. Michael Ben-Eli, next to him is Dr. Muhammad Al-Nabari and one of his daughters, in the Shai Zauderer Visitors' Hall. Shai was the graphic designer who accompanied the project and the New York based Sustainability Laboratory, and did much more than just graphics for the project.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
The family of the late Shai Zauderer next to his photograph<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Anyone who lives in the Negev cannot help but be filled with hope<\/strong>, says the physician Dr.<\/strong> Yasmin Abu Friha<\/strong> (35), a member of the project's executive committee. My eyebrows rise in surprise at this sentence. Yasmin explains: In the Negev, there is de facto coexistence, there is one central city \u2013 Beersheba<\/strong>, where everyone drains. Arabs and Israelis share space in cafes, clothing stores, the university, everywhere. And of course, at Soroka Hospital, where a huge part of the medical staff, the male and female doctors, the male and female nurses, and the patients themselves \u2013 are Arab\/Bedouin. Yasmin herself is a physician, an internal medicine specialist at Soroka Hospital, and on October 7th was at work. She describes the emergency room as a "battlefield," and the mobilization of the Arab medical staff as "our Order 8", which is the I.D.F. code for emergency\u00a0 mobilization.
"There was not a doctor or Arab staff member who did not show up for work that day, and later. And that inspires hope."
Indeed, it seems to me that "Hope<\/strong>" is the star presence of Wadi Attir's birthday<\/strong>. Hope and good, excellent people, who do not believe in a culture of victimhood, who believe in their ability to change despite difficult conditions, who work to change the situation – and succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
Dr. Yasmin Abu Freiha<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

And so, over a hundred men and women came from all over the country to the celebration. The event was moderated by Nimrod Rogel<\/strong>, CEO of Project<\/strong> Wadi Attir <\/strong>. Mr.<\/strong> Habbas Al-Atauna, head of Hura Municipal Council<\/strong>, opened with a short speech in Arabic and Hebrew, followed by (surprisingly) short speeches by Muhammad Al-Nabari, Michael Ben<\/strong> Eli, and Silvan Shalom<\/strong>. Most of the time was devoted to socializing with people who had not met for a long time. Professor Jimmy Weinblatt<\/strong>, who gave the project the academic umbrella that accompanied the early years of thinking, planning, and building the foundations, arrived. Former Minister Silvan Shalom<\/strong>, who was then the Minister of Negev and Galilee Development and Regional Development, managed to bring about a government decision that supported the project. Professor Yitzhak Meir (Sakis),<\/strong> Dr. Stephane Leu, and Dr. Amir Mor Mussery<\/strong>, people who dedicated their lives to studying the desert. Economist Professor Glenn Yago<\/strong> arrived, who develops economic models for the feasibility of profits, in accordance with social and sustainability principles. Shepherds who contributed their knowledge, including Ibrahim Al-Atrash<\/strong> (whose three daughters are doctors at Soroka Hospital, and his son is studying medicine), arrived, as did the director of the Bedouin school, Shehadeh Abu-Sbiet <\/strong>, who is responsible for raising generations of educated Bedouins, including Dr. Muhammad Al-Nabari himself. The founders of the project, such as Ghadir Hanni<\/strong>, who was the administrative director and director of the visitors' center and promoted women wherever she was, and still does so today, in Acre. The humble Younis Al-Nabari<\/strong>, who was the project's CEO at the beginning, flexibly and creatively finding the appropriate ways for implementation, and is today a member of the executive committee. Itzik Zivan<\/strong>, who is committed with all his heart to development projects in the Negev, on a voluntary basis, who served as CEO in early years. Journalist Nawaf Al-Nabari<\/strong>, who participated in the early brainstorming forum. And many more, Bedouins and Jews, women and men, academics, field workers, and public administration officials, such as Eyal Hayon<\/strong>, deputy head of the<\/strong> planning department and in charge of land concessions for Bedouin settlement in the<\/strong> Negev<\/strong>. Eyal deserves great praise for having gone to great lengths and succeeded in doing the impossible and obtaining an area of \u200b\u200b400 dunams for the project, a unique site free of claims, that was acceptable to both the administrator and the various Bedouin tribes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current staff proudly welcomed the visitors, Nimrod Rogel<\/strong> \u2013 the energetic CEO and his right hand \u2013 Hagit Meisel<\/strong>, Sarit Peretz<\/strong>, the operations manager<\/strong> who joined the project recently. Wearing a traditional white kaffiyeh on his head –  Ali Alhawshla<\/strong>, the wizard of the medicinal plant field<\/strong>, and creator of healing infusions and cosmetic products. Jamila Abu-Kaf<\/strong>, director of the agricultural school<\/strong>, and a "sustainability" officer who is a graduate of the Sustainability Laboratory's fellows program (GSF<\/strong>), and  many more.
My apologies to those whose names I did not mention.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
From right to left: Dr. Michael Ben-Eli, former Minister Silvan Shalom, and Dr. Muhammad Al-Nabari<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Hagit Meisel, Sarit Peretz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Jamila Abu Keif, Hagit & Sarit<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
on the right Pros. Jimmy Weinblatt <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Nimrod Rogel – CEO of Wadi Atir<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
on the left – Mr. Habbas Al-Atauna, head of the Hura Council<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
to the right, Itzik Zivan <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Avir Elbaz, acquisition manager<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
me& Prof. Yitzhak Meir (Sakis) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Rina Kuch, me with Prof. Glen Yago & his wife<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Mr. Habbas Al-Atauna, head of the Hura Council<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Dr. Muhammad Al-Nabari<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Dr. Michael Ben Eli<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Silvan Shalom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
working staff <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
working staff <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You are welcome to visit at any time. So get going! Project Wadi Attir is much closer and safer than you think. Lots of activities for children, and broadening horizons for adults. There is also a shop on site with farm products – wonderful dairy products from goats and sheep, I highly recommend the yogurt stone, butter, gibna, tea infusions, wonderful doga-zaatar, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
Wad Atir Za'atar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
honey <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
soap for hair washing <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
yogurt stone <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
medicinal herbs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Facial soap for wrinkle treatment<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
The Beduin hospitality tent<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have had the great privilege of writing a documentary book about the development of Project Wadi Attir and its evolution over the years. The project is a joint initiative of the Bedouin community in the Negev and the Sustainability Laboratory based in New York. I have another privilege \u2013 to share with you the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3080,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1060,1059,1061,619,1062,614,1044,617,1043,615,575],"class_list":["post-3187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-arid-areas","tag-beduins","tag-dr-michael-ben-eli","tag-dr-mohammed-alnabari","tag-ecological-rehibilitation","tag-international-sustainability-laboratory-dr-michael-ben-eli","tag-naomi-r-azar","tag-negev","tag-nomikan","tag-project-wadi-attir","tag-sustainability"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nomikan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nomikan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nomikan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nomikan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nomikan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3187"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/nomikan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3187\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3224,"href":"https:\/\/nomikan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3187\/revisions\/3224"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nomikan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nomikan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nomikan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nomikan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}