Bedouin Youth Integration Into Israeli Society

September 2024 Life in Israel

Translated from the Hebrew by Norman Silbert

In the midst of the war, the Neve Midbar Seminar saw the start of its third workshop, run by The Israeli Volunteer Association. The purpose of the workshop is to facilitate the integration of Bedouin youth into Israeli society. This week, despite the difficult situation in the south, fifty young graduates of the Neve Midbar Regional Council educational system completed a six-month workshop. The regional council serves some 50,000 residents (12,000 live in four permanent settlements and the remainder are members of the Bedouin community residing in unrecognized villages).

The Neve Midbar Seminar is run by The Israeli Volunteer Association, in cooperation with the Neve Midbar Regional Council and the National Lottery, and answers the urgent need for a gap-year program between the end of high school and the start of adult life for twelfth grade graduates from the Arab sector in general, and the Bedouin in particular. The Israeli Volunteer Association realized that a gap-year program, previously unavailable, was vital for the personal development of the young graduates, and now spearheads efforts to establish a greater affinity with Israeli society and, through the affirmation of self-identity, to enable their lives to move forward supported by informed decisions.

This is the only workshop in the country that offers Bedouin youth necessary life skills which include the Hebrew language, an introduction to state institutions and exposure to the divergence of the country's ethnic communities.

During the intensive six-month period the participants cooperate as a local leadership nucleus, asserting their personal and cultural identities, while also encountering all the ethnicities and strata that make up Israeli society. The program also includes meetings with role models worthy of imitation. The workshop offers them their first exposure beyond traditional cultural confines and introduces them to the State of Israel and its national symbols, such as the Knesset and the Supreme Court, together with activities designed to engender self-esteem and confidence. Particular attention is paid to providing tools essential for starting adult life, among them theory studies for a driver's license, workshops on study options or volunteering for national service.

Before the graduation ceremony, we met with heads of The Israeli Volunteer Association and directors of educational institutions committed to encouraging and supporting the students and their parents, and were shown the graduates' final project of recycling stations in schools.

The seminar opened its doors in 2021 and, since then, has produced from the first two workshops more than 200 graduates who have integrated well into Israeli society. More than 70% are involved in meaningful national service, academia and the labor market.

Head of the regional council Salame Abu Adisan: "Quality of life will be achieved through education and employment and the seminar, which provides essential life skills, is the first step in the right direction to providing the young people of the region with the confidence to make informed choices in their adult lives. Thanks go to all those who contributed to this project, and to The Israeli Volunteer Association for the professional support and cooperation in this venture. Thanks also to my colleague, MK Shuster, for joining us here. We will continue to make every possible effort to work toward a better future.

MK Alon Shuster of the Hamachane Hamamlachti party, former Minister of Agriculture and Deputy Minister of Defense: "During my visit here, I encountered motivated Bedouin youth as well as a dedicated and professional staff. I was impressed by the staff's commitment to these young students and to the future of the country, and the determination to integrate into Israeli society. The Bedouin community has also lost sons in this war, but we share not only the common bond of grief and bravery but also of a future in times of peace. The involvement of The Israeli Volunteer Association in helping to integrate these young people, is the precursor of service to the State of Israel and to mandatory service for all sectors of Israeli society. I wish these young people every success in the future."

Yigal Weiner, Deputy Director of The Israeli Volunteer Association said that the Neve Midbar Seminar is an excellent example of the practical application of the association's vision of bolstering the country's social resilience through long-term volunteer projects. The seminar has offered these young people a period of orientation, during which time they have had the opportunity to experience the full spectrum of Israeli society. This encounter has contributed to mitigating their concerns and difficulties and prepared them to move forward to adulthood with confidence.