Desert Stars (ar:نجوم الصحراء; he:כוכבי המדבר) is an Israeli non-profit focused on developing the leadership skills of Bedouin youth and preparing them for higher education. The organization was founded in 2013, as part of a collaboration between Bedouin mayor Muhammad al-Nabari and Jewish entrepreneur, Matan Yaffe.[1][2][3]
History
In an effort to promote equality, all management positions at Desert Stars are jointly held by a Bedouin and an Israeli Jew.[4]
Desert Stars' initially offered a yearlong boarding school program for male high school graduates in Ruhama.[1][4] The program included activities like wilderness training, and lessons in Hebrew, math, and emotional intelligence from both Bedouin and Jewish instructors.[1] As of 2018, 60 graduates participated, with plans to expand the program to include young women as well.[4]
The organization later expanded, opening the Desert Stars Rawafed Empowerment Center, an after-school center which offers volunteering opportunities, clubs, art programs, and sports teams.[1][2]
In 2016, the group opened a co-ed "leadership high school," with 210 students from multiple Bedouin tribes.[1][2][4]
The organization plans to open Israel's first Bedouin youth village, the Jusidman Campus for Bedouin Leadership.[5]
Impact
As of 2019, around 80% of high schoolers involved with Desert Stars earned a full matriculation diploma,[2] and as of 2023, 70% of graduates went on to higher education, with very few dropping out.[3]
Desert Star alumni have received media attention for their community work, as in 2021 when a group of 20 alumni repaired a Jewish cemetery after it was vandalized by other Bedouin youth.[6]
Awards
In 2018, the organization received the Israeli Hope Prize.[7]
In 2019, the organization received the Zusman-Joint Distribution Committee Prize.[8]
In 2023, co-founders al-Nabari and Yaffe received the IIE Victor J. Goldberg Prize for their work with Desert Stars.[5]
