Board of Directors
Co-founder and board chair
Yosef Abramowitz
This is your Team Member description. Use this space to write a brief Born in 1964 in Boston, Massachusetts. In the past fifteen years alone, he has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by 12 African Countries, named by CNN as one of the world’s top six Green Pioneers, and has founded three different solar startups, including projects in ten African nations. After successfully connecting Israel's first solar field in 2009, he turned his mind to the Negev, and soon after began working with our namesake, Sayyid al-Harumi, to bring the blessings of solar energy to the Bedouin community. of this person’s role and responsibilities, or add a short bio.
Co-founder and board chair
Raid Abu Alkian
Raid has been on the scene of Bedouin solar energy from the very beginning. A teacher by training, he was a key player in the completion of the first Bedouin solar field in the town of Tarabin. Today he works at 'Marom energy', an Israeli-based energy company leading the charge for Bedouin solar endeavors.
board member
Dr Rachel Knoll
Rachel has a PhD in physics from Ben- Gurion University and has been involved in education for over 30 years. She started the physics course for high school students in Yeruham and was selected as a nationally outstanding physics teacher in 2009. She Established and managed the Science Center in Yeruham, which runs science and technology programs for children from K-12 with the aim of exposing them to these fields and opening a broader picture of the future for them.
Rachel currently manages the field programs at MindCET, which deals with technological innovation in education and runs programs that meet students, teachers, and schools. As part of this work, she runs many programs in the Bedouin community.
Rachel also serves as a national instructor in the Ministry of Education on behalf of the supervision of physics teaching and deals in encouraging girls to physic. She also serves as the chairman of the education committee at the National Council for the Advancement of Women in Science and Technology at the Ministry of Science.
Serves as committee member of MIRKAM EZORI- that deals with the partnership between Jews and Bedouins between Yeruham and and the neighboring village Rahma.
Co-director of the initiative
Amal Abu Alkum
A veteran in the field of Social Activism in the Bedouin community. Amal founded the Bedouin Women's Association and served as director between 2010-2019. She served in various Municipal positions at Segev Shalom. Amal has forged many valuable relationships with various government ministries, the Jewish Agency, companies, NGO's, and leaders- including the late MK Al-harumi who was a close friend. She holds a BA in education, is a certified facilitator, and "Ajeek" instructor for Local empowerment.
co-founder board member
Micha Price
Born and raised in Jerusalem. Served in the Military for five years and discharged at the rank of Captain. Micha is an Alumni of the Arava institute, is currently finishing his BA in political science and public policy and founded the Initiative in July 2021 With Yosef Abramowitz. He is a long term social and environmental activist, and is the co-author of "A Biblical Guide to the Climate Crisis" that is expected to be published in April 2023.
board member
Adiv Abu Sarchan
Adiv has a BA in public policy and management. He has spent 11 years in the southern district of the environmental protection agency and is currently the chief supervisor of the environmental infrastructure intervention and development in the Bedouin community.
Co-director of the initiative
Gil Yasur
Gil is a veteran in the field of social and environmental activism. A member of a cooperative intentional community in Sderot. Gil had partnered with many NGO's and government agencies to establish a local sustainability center. He is a social entrepreneur, and an experienced advisor to several NGOs. For the past eight years worked as an economic data analyst for the Israeli Bureau of Statistics. A talented and visionary director, he is an alumni of Reichman University NGOs directors course.
board member
Proffesor Dan Rabinowitz
A socio-cultural anthropologist and environmentalist by training, he has taught and worked at some of the most prestigious universities and colleges in the world. He currently teaches at the department of Sociology and Anthropology at Tel-Aviv University, and is a faculty member at the Arava Institute for environmental studies. Between 2013 and 2017 Rabinowitz headed the Porter School of Environmental Studies at TAU. Rabinowitz has published many books regarding Israel, climate change, Israeli-Palestinian relations and identity, Bedouin society and recently his latest book- The Power of Deserts, in which he lays a road map for the oil-rich Arab gulf nations to leverage their unique international position and play an instrumental role in a just transition to renewable energies. He has served as President of the Israeli Anthropological association, Chairman of Life and Environment, Chairman of Greenpeace Mediterranean, Vice Chairman of Greenpeace UK, and is currently chairman of the Israeli Association for Environmental Justice.
board member
Fareed Mahameed
Environmental Public health specialist(MPH), Bio-medical engineer(BSc) and Educator & Alumni of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies (AIES). Fareed is a transboundary, environmental, sustainability, cultural & social entrepreneur. Fareed expertise is working on capacity building and climate resilience with marginalized communities in Israel, Jordan &Palestine. He worked mainly with the Bedouin community in the Negev on environmental innovation. He currently runs the off-grid hub at Al-Foraa village to provide off-grid integrated and holistic solutions to the community there. He is assistant director at the center of Transboundary water management at the Arava Institute and Runs Al-Thaqafat Center for Shared culture in the Negev at Hagar NGO for equality in Jewish and Arab education.