Want to learn more about the history of Palestinian villages which were destroyed or evacuated in 1948?
Dr Thabet Abu Rass
Dr Thabet Abu Rass is Co-Executive Director of The Abraham Initiatives, an NGO that promotes equality and Jewish-Arab partnership in Israel’s society.
Dr Abu Rass obtained his Ph.D. in the field of Regional Development and Middle East Studies from the University of Arizona in 1997. He is a political geographer and a former lecturer in the Department of Geography and Environmental Development at Ben Gurion University as well as the Sapir College. Dr Abu Pass taught courses on ethnic relations, land, planning, and regional development.
Dr Abu Rass is an expert in Palestinian citizens of Israel and Arab-Jewish relations. He took a central role in the process of creating the “Future Visions” of Palestinian citizens of Israel and co-authored three of the future vision documents, which have provided a roadmap for the status, engagement, and demands of Arab society in Israel. He is a prominent voice in promoting the rights of the Bedouins of the Negev and teaching about the Nakba in all Israeli schools.
Dr Abu Rass continues to publish articles regularly in the Hebrew and Arabic press.
As a result of the Nakba, his family split between Gaza refugee camps and the town of Kalanswa inside Israel, where he lives. He will be talking about the pre Palestinian villagers and the destructive effect of the Nakba.
Dr Hala Qasrawi
We were also joined by Dr Hala Qasrawi, a recent graduate from An Najah National University Medical School.
As one of the top graduates, she was selected as one of the first candidates for a FQMS funded teaching fellowship.
She spoke about her experience training at An Najah and how this teaching fellowship has helped her.