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Jun. 28, 2018

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The 2018 William Berelson Prize for the Promotion of Jewish-Arab Understanding in Memory of Yitzhak Rabin was awarded on Wednesday to Ben-Gurion University’s Prof. Riad Agbaria. Agbaria is the Advisor to the Rector for Arab Student Affairs and the initiator of several programs designed to provide equal opportunities to residents of the South.

William Berelson, a California businessman who passed away in 1997, inaugurated the prize at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev for those who promote peace between neighbors.

“If there is one person in our region who has contributed to promoting and bringing the two populations here in the Negev closer - it is Riad,” BGU President Prof. Rivka Carmi said at the prize ceremony, “What we are recognizing today is one man’s dedicated efforts. He succeeded over the course of 20 years to inspire others to join his cause and generate real change. Riad saw the big picture, and without him, we would not be where we are today.”

Agbaria is a member of the Department of Clinical Pharmacology in the Faculty of Health Sciences. He completed all three of his degrees at BGU and then did post-doctoral work at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD before returning to BGU. Agbaria rose to become head of BGU’s School of Pharmacy for seven years.

Throughout his career, Agbaria has emphasized integrating all of the residents of the region. He is the founder of a number of regional initiatives and consistently works to blend minority and majority members in his academic and pre-academic initiatives.

He is the founder and initiator of the Medical Cadets program, which prepares Negev high school students (Bedouin and Jewish alike) for the medical professions. Cadets participate in sessions devoted to improving self-esteem and teamwork. More than 100 high school students have graduated from the program.

Agbaria said he derived a lot of satisfaction from the fact that the Medical Cadets program is now run by Dr. Rania Okby, the first Medical Cadet. “She went from shamefully hiding her ripped sandals in 10th grade, to a doctor,” he said proudly. It was not an easy road for her or the program, he said, but there have been 18 graduates of the program who went on to become doctors, 30 who became pharmacists and another 15 who are earning their degrees now.

Noticing another underserved population, he also began bringing lecturers to teach classes to prisoners in the local Beer-Sheva prison, which transformed into a day of study every week at the University over 15 weeks for a select group of prisoners. The third group of prisoners is finishing the program now.

Always looking to help communities in need, Agbaria recalled a recent graduate from Bnei Brak who was initially rejected from the School of Pharmacy. After meeting with him, Agbaria understood how much this applicant could help his community, and “he just graduated as one of the top students in his year,” Agbaria said.

Agbaria is also a former head of the Robert H. Arnow Center for Bedouin Studies and Development.

In their letter of recommendation, the Faculty of Health Sciences also noted Prof. Agbaria’s strong social media presence where he advocates for tolerance, moderation and non-violence in both Hebrew and Arabic, sometimes in the face of threats from more extreme elements.

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