Arava Institute Executive Director Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed
Temple Israel, Boston
Thursday, December 7, 2023 at 7:00 pm

*We will begin with the lighting of the menorah for the first night of Hanukkah

In the hyper-arid, drought-stricken Middle East, one resource is more precious than water: Trust. The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies has demonstrated that cooperation on environmental issues that impact all the people of the region is an effective path to peace-building among communities that have been locked in conflict for generations. Since 1996, AIES has brought together nearly 1,800 Palestinian, Jordanian, Israeli, and international students to protect fragile shared environmental resources, eliminate conflict over these scarce natural resources and serve as a model for constructive peacemaking. 

Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed is in his second year as executive director of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies and is founder of its Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation. Israel21c just named him one of the forty-eight Israelis uniquely shaping Israel and the world. Formerly the Israeli Ministry of Science’s Deputy Chief Scientist and Acting Chief Scientist—the highest ranking Palestinian in the Israeli government—today he leads regional cooperation through applied environmental diplomacy and is the co-chair of the regional cooperation and security task force of President Herzog’s Israel Climate Forum.