About the Event

NIF Australia supports work to ensure that Bedouin villages, both recognised and unrecognised, receive equal services. Even in recognised villages, residents are often denied the right to build new homes or expand existing ones. Structures built without permits are technically illegal and cannot be legally connected to water and electricity.

NIF grantee, the Regional Council of Unrecognised Villages (RCUV) was founded as the only organisation run by residents of unrecognised villages themselves. The group  is instrumental in liaising between the Bedouin community, nonprofits and the government, as well as providing instruction and training to develop local leadership. NIF Australia is proud to support their work. 

Rabbis for Human Rights (RHR) is the only rabbinic organisation in Israel explicitly dedicated to human rights in Israel and the occupied territories. RHR is a rabbinic voice educating the Israeli public about human rights violations and pressuring state institutions to fix these injustices. RHR’s campaign “Planting Justice '', is a message of solidarity and hope, to plant trees by Israelis and Palestinians, working together for human rights, justice and peace in the West Bank and among unrecognised villages in the West Bank.

Sameer Awad is a social worker from the village of Awarta and the community coordinator for Rabbis for Human Rights. For many years he travelled in the Nablus region, assisting communities and farmers, as well as mobilising resources to deal with the crises that come with settler and army violence. Sameer reaches out to communities and facilitates the arrival of activists in solidarity visits, protective presence, olive harvesting and tree planting.

Dani Brodsky was born in Russia and grew up in Jerusalem. A political strategist, he serves as the director of the occupied Palestinian territory department in Rabbis for Human Rights. Dani is responsible for the planning and managing of projects taking place in the occupied territory. With extensive field organising experience, Dani is responsible for training, recruiting and bringing activists to the field, while ensuring safe and effective activities.

Attia Al-Asam grew up in the unrecognised village of Abu-Tlul. Attia has devoted his life to the rights of the residents of the unrecognised Bedouin villages in the Negev/Naqab desert. Today, Attia serves as chair in The Regional Council for the Unrecognized Bedouin Villages in the Negev.

Rabbi Dana Sharon holds a degree in Literature from the Hebrew University, an MA degree in Contemporary Jewish Thought from Schechter Institute, and was ordained by the Israeli Rabbinic Program of the Hebrew Union College (HUC). A prominent religious and feminist activist, she is a board member of Women of the well, has served as the Chairperson of the Jerusalem House for Pride and Tolerance and volunteered for the Jerusalem Rape Crisis Center. She was also the Social Media Manager at IRAC for six years and congregational rabbi of the Reform congregation of Gedera for two years. She currently teaches at HUC in the Israeli Rabbinic Program and Year in Israel program. Dana lives in her hometown of Kibbutz Nachshon with her life partner Shay, their twins, and a crazy cat.