OUR DELEGATION
Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed
Dr. Abu Hamed from East Jerusalem holds a Bachelor’s and a Master’s of Science in Chemical Engineering from Gazi University (Turkey), and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Ankara University (Turkey), and has completed two terms of postdoctoral research at the Environmental Science and Energy Research Department of the Weizmann Institute (Israel), and the University of Minnesota’s Mechanical Engineering Department Solar Energy Lab. In 2008, he established the Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (CREEC) at the Arava Institute. He left the Institute in 2013 to become the Israeli Ministry of Science’s Deputy Chief Scientist, and later the Acting Chief Scientist, the highest ranking Palestinian in the Israeli government. He returned to the Arava Institute in 2016 as Director of CREEC and Academic Director, and was appointed Executive Director in 2021.
Dr. David Lehrer
Dr. Lehrer holds a Doctorate from the Geography and Environmental Development Department of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and a joint Masters Degree in Management Science from Boston University and Ben-Gurion University. Dr. Lehrer was the Executive Director of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies from 2001 until August 2021 and has now become Director of International Development. Mr. Lehrer has been a member of Kibbutz Ketura since 1981; worked in agriculture and education; served as the General Secretary and Business Manager, and twice served as an emissary for the Jewish Agency of Israel in the US. Dr. Lehrer’s research includes studies on the effectiveness of the ISO 14001 environmental management system, sustainable development in the Dead Sea Basin and the cost of nature conservation in Israel. After a Sabbatical lecturing at Boston University, Dr. Lehrer returned to the Arava Institute in 2022 as a lecturer, and Director of International Development.
Fareed Mahameed
Fareed Mahameed holds BSc in Bio-Medical Engineering from the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, and a Master's degree in Environmental Public Health and Industrial Hygiene (Mph) from the University of Haifa, and studied at the Arava Institute in 2015/16. Originally from Umm al-Fahm, he is one of the founding faculty members of the Al-Mutanabbi multidisciplinary Bedouin school in Kseifa. An educator at heart, he has dedicated his professional life to promoting transboundary cooperation and education to enhance climate resilience for marginalized communities. Since 2020 he has been the Assistant Director of the Arava Institute's Center of Transboundary Water Management. In this position, he is currently leading a first-of-its-kind project to build a holistic, integrative off-grid hub at the unrecognized Bedouin village Alfura.
Angelina Heil
Angelina Heil holds an honors Bachelor in International Relations from the University of Malta, and is enrolled for a Master’s degree in Political Science and an MBA in Sustainability at the University of Haifa. Originally from Germany, she’s been active in refugee circles in Europe, both at distress at the Mediterranean Sea and during their asylum process on mainland Europe itself. Over the last years, she has studied in both Israeli and Palestinian universities and hence lived on both sides of the Green Line. She’s passionate about accelerating dialogue and cooperation in the region, particularly that of environmental development. Currently, she is researching the feasibility of a new approach to Israeli-Palestinian cooperation via the new mechanisms introduced in Article 6.2 and 6.4 of the Paris Climate Agreement.
UPDATES
DIRECTOR’S BLOG: THE ARAVA INSTITUTE AT COP28
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COP28 UPDATE: APPROACHING CLIMATE CHANGE THROUGH THE HEAD AND THE HEART
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Our delegates Angelina Heil and Fareed Mahameed at the World Climate Impact Hub at COP28 UAE
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Our representative at COP28 Fareed Mahameed at the Youth Climate Education Advocates Meet-Up in Dubai
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