Who We Are

Mission & Vision

Atid Bamidbar grapples with the lack of solidarity and sense of belonging among Israel's various “tribes.” Believing that diversity is a source of strength, we showcase populations whose stories are not well known in the Israeli mainstream, and create connections between individuals, groups, organizations, and municipalities in the Negev and beyond.

We use effective tools of documentation and dissemination of stories and cultural traditions, community-based tourism, and joint socioeconomic action to empower the Negev’s marginal groups, bridge cultural gaps, promote intergroup acquaintance and collaboration, and create a more inclusive Jewish and Israeli story.

Mission & Vision

Our Story

We are based in Yeroham. Our name is an amalgam of Hebrew-language acronyms for two grassroots social-change NGOs that combined forces:

ATID—Friends for Documentation of Yeroham’s Generations
BAMIDBAR—Center for Creative Jewish Study

ATID was formally founded in 1990 to document and disseminate the stories of Yeroham’s diverse residents and communities, bring communities and generations together, and emphasize their heretofore unappreciated contribution—and those of other development towns—to the flourishing of the Negev and Israel.

After Prime Minister Rabin’s assassination in 1995, Israeli society seemed to be breaking apart along the volatile fissures of religious and political divisions. It was then that BAMIDBAR was established to serve as a regional center for personal encounters across the divisions and for joint learning and engagement with our shared Jewish heritage. Study and activities were integrated with the arts and social-educational projects. Our programs attracted secular, traditional, religious and even ultra-Orthodox participants from the Negev and the Arava via tens of study and cultural-event formats.

The two frameworks became one in name, mission, and vision in 2004 and work currently in four core areas—Community, Culture, Identity; Programs With Russian Speakers; Incubator for Bedouin-Jewish Initiatives; and Community-Based Tourism. All our activities are aimed at personally, culturally, and socioeconomically empowering the people of our town and the Negev region and strengthening the ties between them.