AJEEC-NISPED

AJEEC-NISPED is an Israel-based social-change organization whose work combines Arab-Jewish cooperation, community development, youth engagement, and health and wellbeing initiatives. Its formal identity brings together two related institutional traditions: the Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Economic Development (NISPED), founded in 1997 by Dr. Yehuda Paz, and the Arab-Jewish Center for Empowerment, Equality, and Cooperation (AJEEC), established in 2000 by Amal Elsana Alh'jooj. The organization is also commonly described in Arabic as AJEEC–NISPED, or Ajeec–Negev Institute. The organization initially concentrated on the Negev and on the needs of Arab-Bedouin communities in southern Israel. NISPED began field activity in the Negev in 2000, while AJEEC developed programs concerned with peacebuilding, economic opportunity, and community empowerment. In 2015, the organization broadened its activities to Arab municipalities and mixed cities in central and northern Israel, giving it a nationwide Israeli operating footprint. It has also undertaken selected international development and humanitarian projects, including post-tsunami assistance in Sri Lanka and a community-resilience and employment initiative in Cameroon. AJEEC-NISPED's work is organized around four broad areas. The first is shared society: the organization creates opportunities for Arabs and Jews to work, learn, and develop projects together, while also maintaining links with Palestinian partners. The second is youth and leadership, especially for people aged approximately 15 to 25. Its Shabibat AJEEC division provides Arabic-language youth activities, after-school programming, leadership development, and a gap-year framework for Arab youth. The third is community development in Arab society in Israel, including employment training, childcare, support for women entrepreneurs, and locally designed economic initiatives. The fourth is child health and wellbeing, including early-childhood services, educational support, public-health education, and assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic. The organization emphasizes a shared-management model in which key roles are held jointly by Jewish and Arab or Palestinian staff members. At the leadership level identified in the available reference material, Kher Albaz serves as chair, while Sliman Al-Amour and Dr. Ilan Amit serve as co-chief executive officers. The organization reports a workforce of approximately 200 people and engagement with more than 20,000 beneficiaries through its programs each year. These figures are descriptive estimates from reference material rather than audited financial or operating disclosures. AJEEC-NISPED's programs have included paired Jewish and Bedouin schools, youth dialogue, teacher training, preschool and homework support, efforts to reconnect girls with education, health education addressing early and consanguineous marriage, and employment programs for Bedouin women. Its community approach is reflected in the Arabic word “Ajeec,” understood as “I come towards you”: initiatives are intended to be developed with local communities, leadership, municipalities, and public institutions rather than imposed from outside. The organization is a member of the Alliance for Middle East Peace and remains active as a civil-society organization focused on coexistence, equality, and community resilience.

The institutional history of AJEEC-NISPED is rooted in two connected initiatives. NISPED, the Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Economic Development, was founded in 1997 by Dr. Yehuda Paz. It began carrying out activities in the Negev in 2000, with a focus on peace, economic development, and community empowerment. Paz served as NISPED's chairman until his death in 2013. AJEEC, the Arab-Jewish Center for Empowerment, Equality, and Cooperation, was founded in 2000 by Amal Elsana Alh'jooj. Its early work concentrated on peace and development projects involving Arab-Bedouin communities in Israel and partners in the Palestinian territories. The name Ajeec is associated with the Arabic expression “I come towards you,” conveying an approach based on approaching communities, recognizing local assets and needs, and developing projects with local leadership and public institutions. During the 2000s, AJEEC-NISPED developed initiatives intended to create practical cooperation between Arab and Jewish communities and between Israeli and Palestinian participants. Its Co-operative Produce for Peace project sought to link Palestinian and Israeli producers of cherry tomatoes, strawberries, and sweet potatoes in a cooperative structure. The project was suspended in 2007 after Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip and the Israeli government imposed a blockade affecting movement and trade across the border. In 2009, AJEEC launched Joint Ventures for Peace with the Shorouq Society for Women. The program brought Israeli and Palestinian women entrepreneurs and craftspeople together for joint training and business development, but was suspended during the 2014 Gaza War because of logistical constraints. The organization's Israeli community-development work expanded through programs such as Al Sanabel, a catering initiative opened in Hura in 2008. Al Sanabel supplied hot meals to Bedouin schools and created employment for Bedouin women. By 2011, AJEEC was also offering employment training that helped women enter occupations including photography, catering, and DJ work. Its childcare and education portfolio included preschool services, homework support, and efforts to help girls who had left school return to education. At that time, the organization operated 21 daycare centers, many staffed by local Bedouin mothers. Youth programming became a major institutional pillar. Shabibat AJEEC was founded in 2002 by Sliman Al-Amour and developed Arabic-language activities for predominantly Bedouin youth. The division provides after-school and community activities, leadership opportunities, and settings in which Arab and Jewish young people can interact. A related Shared Society program, launched in 2009, paired Bedouin and Jewish schools. Students met regularly for joint learning, while teachers participated in shared training. Negev L’Kulanu, or “Negev for All of Us,” similarly brought Bedouin and Jewish junior-high students together for dialogue and collaborative projects. Shabibat AJEEC later expanded beyond southern Israel and developed a gap-year program for Arab youth parallel in purpose to the period of national service commonly undertaken by Jewish Israeli youth. AJEEC-NISPED also developed health and environmental initiatives. By 2011, its educational work addressed health risks associated with early marriage and consanguineous marriage. In the mid-2010s, it collaborated with the West Bank-based Green Land Society for Health on studies concerning electronic-waste recycling, worker health, and environmental impacts in the West Bank. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization assisted with testing services for Bedouin residents, drawing on resources, training, and ambulance access provided by municipalities in the Negev and Magen David Adom. In 2015, the organization expanded from its Negev base into Arab municipalities and mixed cities in central and northern Israel. It has also undertaken international work, including aid in Sri Lanka after the 2004 tsunami and the Communities Prosper Together project in Cameroon, launched in 2019 to provide job training and strengthen relations and resilience among ethnic groups. After the October 7 attacks, AJEEC-NISPED responded to needs in affected Bedouin communities by supporting bomb shelters, distributing food, connecting residents with Arabic-speaking trauma-support organizations, and arranging children's programs. It also encouraged members of the Knesset to visit unrecognized Bedouin villages and organized tours intended to draw attention to the communities' conditions. The organization operates through a shared-management model with Arab or Palestinian and Jewish staff counterparts in roles, and remains active as a large Israeli civil-society organization focused on shared society, equality, youth, community development, and wellbeing.

• 2023

  Post-October 7 community response

  [1]Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Developmenten.wikipedia.org

  AJEEC-NISPED supported affected Bedouin communities through shelter, food, trauma-support connections, and children's activities.

• 2019

  Communities Prosper Together launches in Cameroon

  [1]Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Developmenten.wikipedia.org

  NISPED launched a Cameroon project combining job training, community resilience, and improved relations between ethnic groups.

• 2015

  Nationwide Israeli expansion

  [1]Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Developmenten.wikipedia.org

  Operations expanded to Arab municipalities and mixed cities in central and northern Israel.

• 2013

  Death of founder Yehuda Paz

  [1]Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Developmenten.wikipedia.org

  Dr. Yehuda Paz, NISPED's founder and longtime chairman, died.

• 2011

  NISPED leaders receive a peacebuilding award

  [1]Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Developmenten.wikipedia.org

  Vivian Silver and Amal Elsana Alh'jooj received the Victor J. Goldberg Prize for Peace in the Middle East.

• 2009

  Shared Society and Joint Ventures for Peace develop

  [1]Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Developmenten.wikipedia.org

  AJEEC launched its school-pairing Shared Society program and, with the Shorouq Society for Women, began Joint Ventures for Peace.

• 2008

  Al Sanabel opens in Hura

  [1]Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Developmenten.wikipedia.org

  The catering initiative began providing hot meals to Bedouin schools while employing Bedouin women.

• 2002

  Shabibat AJEEC is established

  [1]Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Developmenten.wikipedia.org

  Sliman Al-Amour founded the organization's youth division, initially focused on southern Israel and Bedouin youth.

• 2000

  AJEEC begins and NISPED starts Negev activities

  [1]Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Developmenten.wikipedia.org

  AJEEC was founded by Amal Elsana Alh'jooj, and NISPED began carrying out activities in the Negev.

• 1997

  NISPED is founded

  [1]Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Developmenten.wikipedia.org

  Dr. Yehuda Paz founded the Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Economic Development.

AJEEC-NISPED positions itself as a community-based Arab-Jewish organization for equality, empowerment, cooperation, peacebuilding, and sustainable social development, with particular expertise in Arab-Bedouin communities and shared-society initiatives.

• Youth leadership and community engagement · 2002

  Shabibat AJEEC

  AJEEC-NISPED's youth division provides Arabic-language after-school activities, leadership development, community engagement, and opportunities for Arab and Jewish youth to interact. It primarily serves Bedouin youth but has expanded beyond southern Israel. The division also operates a gap-year program for Arab youth designed as an alternative pathway to structured civic and community service.

• Arab-Jewish education and dialogue · 2009

  Shared Society

  The Shared Society program pairs Bedouin and Jewish schools for recurring joint activities. Students meet to learn together, while teachers receive shared training. The model uses sustained contact and collaborative learning rather than one-time encounters to promote familiarity and cooperation between communities.

• Youth dialogue and cooperative projects

  Negev L’Kulanu

  Negev L’Kulanu, translated as “Negev for All of Us,” brings Bedouin and Jewish junior-high students together for dialogue and cooperative projects. The initiative reflects AJEEC-NISPED's wider objective of building shared society through practical interaction among young people.

• Community catering and school meals · 2008

  Al Sanabel

  Al Sanabel is a catering program established in Hura that provides hot meals to Bedouin schools and creates employment for Bedouin women. It combines a community service function with local economic participation and skills development.

• Women's entrepreneurship and peacebuilding · 2009

  Joint Ventures for Peace

  Developed with the Shorouq Society for Women, this initiative brought Israeli and Palestinian women entrepreneurs and craftspeople together for training intended to strengthen their businesses. The project was suspended during the 2014 Gaza War because of logistical difficulties.

• International community development · 2019

  Communities Prosper Together

  This Cameroon-based project provided job training and sought to improve relations between ethnic groups while strengthening community resilience. It represents NISPED's international development work outside Israel and the Palestinian territories.

• 2023Post-October 7 Bedouin community response

  Israel

  The organization supported affected Bedouin residents with shelter funding, food donations, trauma-support referrals, and children's programming.

  Outcome. AJEEC-NISPED also promoted political visits to unrecognized Bedouin villages to highlight their needs.

  Source
• 2019Communities Prosper Together

  Cameroon

  NISPED launched employment training and community-resilience work intended to improve relations between ethnic groups.

  Source
• 2009Shared Society school partnerships

  Israel

  Bedouin and Jewish schools were paired for monthly joint learning, with parallel training for teachers.

  Outcome. The initiative established a recurring educational framework for Arab-Jewish interaction.

  Source
• 2009Joint Ventures for Peace

  Israel · Palestinian territories

  AJEEC and the Shorouq Society for Women trained Israeli and Palestinian women entrepreneurs and craftspeople together.

  Outcome. The project was suspended during the 2014 Gaza War because cross-border logistics became difficult.

  Source
• 2002Shabibat AJEEC youth engagement

  Israel

  A youth division was created to provide Arabic-language activities and leadership opportunities, initially for Bedouin youth in southern Israel.

  Outcome. The program later expanded geographically and served approximately 9,100 people according to the reference material.

  Source
• 2000Negev community empowerment and peacebuilding

  Israel

  NISPED began field activities in the Negev, while AJEEC developed community-based peace and development projects focused especially on Arab-Bedouin communities.

  Outcome. The Negev became the organization's main operating base before later nationwide expansion.

  Source
• COVID-19 Bedouin community testing support

  Israel

  During the pandemic, AJEEC-NISPED helped provide COVID-19 testing services to Bedouin residents using municipal resources, training, and ambulance access from Magen David Adom.

  Source

• 2015

  Expansion to central and northern IsraelStrategy

  Background

  After building a substantial base in the Negev, the organization sought to address shared-society and community-development needs in additional Arab municipalities and mixed cities.

  Action taken

  Operations expanded to central and northern Israel and became nationwide in scope.

  Aftermath

  The organization broadened its domestic operating footprint beyond the Negev.

  Source

• 2014

  Suspension of Joint Ventures for PeaceStrategy

  Background

  The 2014 Gaza War created logistical difficulties for a program connecting Israeli and Palestinian women entrepreneurs and craftspeople.

  Action taken

  AJEEC and the Shorouq Society for Women suspended the joint training and enterprise initiative.

  Source

• 2007

  Suspension of Co-operative Produce for PeaceStrategy

  Background

  The cross-border agricultural cooperation project was affected by Hamas's takeover of the Gaza Strip and the Israeli government's blockade.

  Action taken

  The cooperative project involving Israeli and Palestinian producers of fruit and vegetables was suspended.

  Source

1. 1Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Developmenten.wikipedia.org
2. 2AJEEC-NISPED official websiteajeec-nisped.org.il