We are excited to welcome Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed back to the Arava Institute as the new Academic Director. Dr. Abu Hamed from East Jerusalem, previously worked at the Institute as a researcher and lecturer, and established the Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (CREEC). In 2013 he became the Israeli Ministry of Science’s Deputy Chief Scientist, and later the Acting Chief Scientist, the highest ranking Palestinian in the Israeli government.
Dr. Abu Hamed will be replacing Dr. Elli Groner who has been the Institute’s Academic Director for the past ten years. Dr. Groner has been appointed Director of the Dead Sea & Arava Science Center. Dr. Groner will continue at the Institute as a respected and well-liked lecturer of Ecology and biodiversity of the Arava. We thank him for his years of dedication, initiative and investment in the Institute’s academic program.
We wish Dr. Abu Hamed and Dr. Groner success in their new positions and look forward to continued fruitful work together.
Submitted by Hannah Kadish