Vision of the Center
The National Center for Knowledge and Research on the Bedouin Society in the Negev will establish a home for knowledge and data concerning the Bedouin society in the Negev for the purpose of data-based decision making. This home will serve government, local authorities, researchers, civil society and more, for the economic, social and welfare advancement of the Bedouin society, and for closing gaps with other parts of Israeli society.
Up-to-date data repositories on society, economy, education, health, and environment
Applied research and support for decision-making
Development of metrics and insights to reduce disparities
Accompaniment and evaluation of governmental and community programs
Collaboration with research institutions and strategic partners
Head of the Center
Senior lecturer and qualitative researcher. Chair of the Committee for Accessibility of Higher Education to the Arab Population and Promotion of Equity on Campus, Sapir Academic College. A social activist promoting collaboration between the community and academia, was one of the founders of the pilot program “Gate to Academia”, and chaired it in its first year.
Founder of the “Connecting Bridge” program, which assists in integrating social workers who graduated from academic institutions abroad into welfare services in Israel, founder of the “Al-Awsaj” program, which promotes the extraction of indigenous knowledge and its integration into social work practice. A qualitative researcher studying social issues in local and international contexts such as social work in conflict areas, indigenous social work, and the impacts of social change processes on traditional societies. Holds a Ph.D. in Social Work from Ben Gurion University, research fellow at Leiden University, Netherlands, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland FHNW, Mandel Leadership Fellow in the Negev, board member of “Desert Stars” (an NGO promoting young leadership in Bedouin society), co-founder of the “Sawa” program established by Keren Koret (microfinance for promoting business development managed by women from Arab society), author of the book “When the Shadow is Large, It Means the Sun is Setting: The Lives of Three Generations of Bedouin Women”, recipient of the Local Government Award as a Trailblazing Woman, National Student Union Inspirational Lecturer Award, and Kreitman Award for Outstanding Doctoral Students.
Center Director
Responsible for overall management of work processes, supervision of daily activities, coordination between internal and external organizational entities, and leading the implementation of the Center’s programs in the field. Holds a Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration and another Bachelor’s degree in Law, a Master’s degree in Political Science and Public Administration with a specialization in Financial Management. Brings with him extensive professional knowledge and experience in public administration, governance, and budgetary management.
Center Administrator
Administrator of the Bedouin Society Information and Research Center in the Negev. Holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Management, graduate of Ashkelon Academic College. In her role, she is involved in administrative management, including collaboration with public bodies, researchers, community partners, and more.
Data Researcher
Adam Ron, Data Researcher at the Bedouin Society Knowledge Center at Sapir College. Master’s student in Data Science, with research and practical experience in time series analysis, predictive modeling, and creating interactive dashboards. Previously led projects in energy consumption forecasting in the Israeli education system and in ESG-finance. Brings a combination of analytical thinking, research approach, and ability to derive actionable insights from complex data for data-driven decision-making.
Chair of the Steering Committee
Department for Socio-Economic Development of the Bedouin Society
האגף לפיתוח חברתי כלכלי של החברה הבדואית
Jerusalem Institute for Social Policy Studies
Director of the Gartner Institute
The College of Management
Sapir Academic College
Dean of the Research Authority, Sapir Academic College
Former President of Ben-Gurion University
Al-Zarawiy Institute
Ministry of Innovation, Science & Technology
Central Bureau of Statistics
Director of Strategy, Bedouin Authority
Authority for Bedouin Development & Settlement
Kaye Academic College of Education
was held at Sapir Academic College under the guidance of the Center’s Director,
In meetings held with the heads of the local councils in the Negev,
In the group meeting, each participant presented a picture illustrating their future research
Social Work Researchers and Implementers – A team of researchers and implementers will
The first steering committee of the center met for the first time with
