A Shared Life in the Arts

Vision

Art can help young people imagine a better future together. To facilitate a shared environment in which Bedouin and Jewish students interact and form social bonds, through art. The project wishes to cultivate educational excellence and skills among Bedouin students, and encourage them to consider attending Bezalel – Israel’s leading design school.

Activity

The triennial program will take place in Bezalel Excellence Center in Ofakim, where 15-20 promising high school students from nearby Bedouin communities will Work alongside Jewish students, engaging together, various artistic disciplines. We thus hope to diversify the student body at Bezalel Academy, make accessible academic studies to Negev-based Bedouin youth, bring closer Jewish and Bedouin students and, ultimately, increase beneficiaries’ chances for vocational integration in Israel’s mainstream society.

anewdawninthenegev.org/shared-living-in-arts

Today it's clear to me that when I graduate, I want to become an architect. My exposure to art made me realize I want to be a better student and incorporate art in my daily life and work,

- Abu-Freigh Dima from Rahat

Jamal Alkrinawi

Jamal Alkirnawi is the founder and executive director of A New Dawn in the Negev. A passionate visionary, the organization is a manifestation of his desire to raise the level of education for the Bedouin community in Israel’s Negev region.
Jamal’s deep experience in the field sources from his bachelor’s degree in public health administration and two graduate degrees: a master’s of social work from McGill University (Canada) with a specialization in peacebuilding and civil society, and a Mandel MBA in social leadership from his alma mater, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
A social activist since youth, Jamal is a son of Rahat who rose up through the university system, integrating his own experiences and successes to become a the academic counselor for Arab students at Ben-Gurion University, where he worked for 7 years.
Jamal believes that the key to Rahat’s development is through superior education. A high quality of education will prevent the city’s high drop-out rate and the risky behaviors practiced by Bedouin youth; teaching them to become responsible, ethical, and committed citizens. This process must begin in infancy, he asserts, combatting the gaps between Arabs and Jews that begin at birth and continue on through the lifecycle. A New Dawn is committed to this ideal through all of its programs and believes that it should be the highest public priority.
For his innovative work in the community, Jamal was recognized in 2014 by the Recanati-Kop-Chais-Rashi Award for Entrepreneurship in Social Work (Honorable Mention).
Jamal is fluent in Arabic, Hebrew, and English.