The Nordrhein-Westfalen/Deichmann scholarships, given through a joint partnership of Staatskanzlei des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen and Dr. Heinz-Horst Deichmann of Germany, are designated for students from Jordan, Palestine and other Middle East countries at the Albert Katz International School for Desert Studies on the Sde Boker Campus. These scholarships enable talented researchers pursuing their graduate and doctoral degrees at AKIS to take advantage of the wonderful study environment on the Sde Boker Campus, get to know their Israeli peers and create lasting partnerships as they bond on environmental issues to ensure a better future for the region.
The students say it best:
Amer Sweity, from Amman, Jordan, a second year graduate student and a Ph.D. candidate, studies desalination and water treatment. His thesis is on “Physicochemical Mechanisms of Biofouling in Ultrafiltration Membranes of Membrane Bioreactors (MBR).” Amer says:
“I had already known a little about Israeli culture before beginning my studies at AKIS, because I lived on Kibbutz Ketura for a year before coming here. On the kibbutz, I did post graduate work on environmental areas. But when I arrived at AKIS, I went into culture shock – to suddenly meet so many people from so many different cultures! It has been a great learning experience for me. This scholarship has been a tremendous help to me – without it, I wouldn’t have been able to pursue my master’s degree. My dream has always been to do higher research and pursue a higher degree, but if I had stayed in Jordan this would not have been possible. Now, I plan to pursue a doctoral degree at Sede Boqer.”
“Here at AKIS, we get to know each other as people, we get to learn more about the conflict in the Middle East and figure out how to overcome our differences and work together. Now I’ve made friends with people who do similar research and live in the Palestinian Authority, and I’m sure I’ll be in touch with them and with my new Israeli colleagues. We will be friends forever and our scientific collaboration can help benefit the entire region. After all, we are neighbors and we have to help each other.”
“At Sede Boker, everyone is helpful. The researchers don’t just help you with your studies, they welcome you into their homes; they have you over for dinner and invite you to celebrate their bar-mitzvahs. They do absolutely everything they can to make us feel at home. Its’ like one big family – very different from my studies in Jordan, where I went to university during the day and then came home each night. Here, your friends are constantly surrounding you.”
“When someone reaches out to you, there are no words to describe how it makes you feel. The Nordrhein-Westfalen/Deichmann support has completely changed my life, forever.”
Yara Dahdal, a doctoral student from East Jerusalem, researching “Calcium Phosphates Scaling on Surfaces and Bio-Materials Related to Diverse Osmosis Waste Water Treatments at the Water Department”:
“For a long time I wanted to pursue my doctoral studies and I was searching for the right opportunity. This is a very unique institute, with an international student community, and the level of research is very high. Here we have all the instruments and materials we need, we go to conferences and all these conditions allow me to achieve high-quality results. The professors really care about us and they urge us to succeed and to publish. The students are very supportive and warm, and very helpful. I grew up in Jerusalem and when my family came down to visit me they were shocked that I was in the middle of the desert. But I love the warm weather here and the beauty of the desert. I want to thank Nordrhein-Westfalen and Dr. Deichmann for this wonderful support, and I only wish that more students would have this opportunity to come and study at AKIS.”
Muhammed Aljundi, a doctoral student from the Palestinian Authority, researches hydrology issues:
“AKIS is a wonderful institute, and especially in my field there are a lot of labs with high quality equipment, that help me to achieve accurate results. On a social level, studying at the Institute is a great way to create contacts with international students, its’ an excellent opportunity to share ideas and learn about other cultures. Our mutual research allows us to bond, and our friendship crosses borders. Our diverse group of Jews and Christians and Muslim all work together - it makes me optimistic that there could be peace in the region. I hope we can continue to collaborate, especially with the Israelis. We share the same air and water and our problems are the same. We need to work together, we have no choice. Your support enables the Palestinian people to cultivate scientists and help us share our knowledge to overcome our transboundary issues, benefitting all sides of the local environment – Israelis, Palestinians and Jordanians.”
Anton Issa Khalilieh, from Bethlehem, is a Masters student studying environmental issues. His thesis focuses on “physiological responses of small birds to fasting by using breath testing, carbon thirteen and stable isotopes.”
“For me, as a Palestinian, to pursue my graduate studies at an Israeli university is like a dream come true. I am fascinated by nature and especially interested in birds, because they are an excellent indicator of the environment. My advisor, Prof. Barry Pinshaw, is an amazing mentor. He’s tough with us students, but he has such vast knowledge and I feel like I’m learning a lot. At AKIS, we are in the middle of nowhere. Living with all these international students here in the desert is a much more valuable experience than if we were in the middle of a big city. We have so many things to share, and so much to learn about each others’ cultures and how each of us thinks. As a Palestinian, it was important for me to learn more about the Israelis. Before I came to Sede Boqer, the only thing I knew about them was that they are soldiers. But now, even if I don’t totally agree with the Israeli students, I do understand their narrative and I think they understand mine. This can’t be achieved by just sitting in our homes, its’ really important for both sides to communicate. Most of the Israelis aren’t aware of what’s going on with the Palestinians, and vice versa, because we’re not in contact in any way – only in conflict. There is no trust, only fear. Here at AKIS, by researching together, and with the help of the international students who create a larger circle, we’ve built up trust, we see each other’s human side, and this couldn’t have been achieved in any other setting.
I hope to continue to my Ph.D. at Sede Boqer. Connecting with Israeli researchers now will help me establish cooperation with them in the future. It’s very rare for a Palestinian to get a graduate degree at an Israeli university, and at first my family was very worried how I would get along. But once I completed my first semester, and told them how much I love my studies and that I am safe and happy, they became more supportive. Now they say it’s a special honor for them to have me study here.
I would like to thank Nordrhein-Westfalen and Dr. Deichmann for enabling me to study, and for letting me meet Israelis. Communicating with them can bring peace and cooperation, while we work together to protect our environment.”