WE ARE DESERT STARS
We unite mission-driven teenage Bedouin boys and girls from every tribe, educate and train them together, empowering them to realize their individual and collective potential as change-making leaders – able to take their rightful place in Israeli society.
PROGRAMS
Desert Stars Leadership High School & Extracurricular Empowerment Program
Small classes and rigorous instruction allow students to excel. An ambitious array of extracurricular activities complement our formal studies and educate the whole child.
Our new campus will cater for 600 girls and boys in grades 7-12.
Leadership & Entrepreneurship
Gap Year Programs
Yearlong boarding program that prepares high school graduates for professional success and future leadership roles.
For 50 young women and
50 men ages 18-19.
Alumni Program
Our alumni network represents the realization of our mission to create an influential cross-tribal leadership in the Negev. In this program, Desert Stars alumni work together to benefit the Bedouin community and Israeli society.
LEADERSHIP AND EDUCATION FOR A BETTER ISRAEL
Jusidman Campus for Bedouin Leadership, the future home for all Desert Stars programs, will be a living community based on Desert Stars values. Named for the visionary Jusidman family, the campus will be modeled after Israel’s youth villages, in which an immersive boarding school environment changes the lives of vulnerable youths.
OUR ACHIEVEMENTS
AWARDS FOR OUR WORK
‘President’s Award’ (Ot Hanassi) from President Rivlin, June 2018.
Ben Gurion University’s ‘Hope Award’, Dec 2018
JDC Joint-Zusman Prize for promoting the Negev communities, Feb 2019
Jerusalem Unity Prize, May 2021
A MODEL FOR LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
The Ministry of Education has allocated 130 million shekels over five years to support leadership programs based on the Desert Stars model.
ENGAGED ALUMNI
95% of our alumni remain involved in Desert Stars.
More than 60% of our graduates attend higher education and 20% of alumni are developing entrepreneurial projects.
The majority volunteer regularly.
COEXISTENCE IN ACTION
Our team of Bedouin and Jewish directors, managers, and staff work shoulder to shoulder to advance the Desert Stars mission. Our engaged board is two-thirds Bedouin and one-third Jewish.
EXCELLENCY IN EDUCATION
Desert Stars High School achieved an 80% eligibility rate for Bagrut diplomas, compared to a national Bedouin community average of under 50%.
BRIDGING ENTRENCHED TRIBAL DIVISIONS
Our programs bring together students from towns and tribes across the entire Negev.
JOINT VENTURE
The Ministry of Justice authorized government participation in funding Desert Stars’ campus project can be carried out through a JV contract, according to regulation 3 (30) of the mandatory tender regulation.
NEW CAMPUS DESIGN WINS INNOVATION AWARD
Desert Stars’ new school design was chosen out of dozens of applications as a particularly eco-friendly design in line with the “Schools of the Future” program. This will grant an increase in government funding for building costs.
