Harnessed in our belief that all women deserve equality of rights and opportunities regardless of religion, race, nationality or socioeconomic status, we promote understanding and cooperation between women of Jaffa from all religious and cultural backgrounds.
Arous Elbahar advances women in the labor market and raises awareness about financial independence through projects, lectures and workshops about business and employment, all while strengthening self-image and self-love.
Advancing financial independence for the women of Jaffa
Advancing social empowerment for the women of Jaffa
Encouraging the women of Jaffa to enter and progress within the job market
Business advancement for the women of Jaffa
We believe that together, we can change Jaffa.
Arous Elbahar for the women of Jaffa is a nonprofit organization founded in 2007 by a group of Palestinian women living in Jaffa. The nonprofit strives to advance the status, place and inclusion of the women of Jaffa and provides them with the tools and resources to make a positive change in their lives at the personal, financial and community levels, by strengthening their involvement in community activities and the job market.
Arab women in Israel suffer from double discrimination, as part of the Palestinian national minority in Israel and as women. They face limitations and challenges including unemployment, poverty, unjust working conditions, leaving school at a young age leading to low levels of education, violence, and oppression and discrimination on the basis of their nationality and gender. In addition, the Arab women of Jaffa in particular suffer from unique challenges such as housing shortages, single parenthood, and financial hardship. These difficulties emerge as a result of the gentrification of the city of Tel Aviv-Jaffa.
The nonprofit offers Arab women meaningful services including the counseling and rights center for accessing rights in the fields of labor, housing, debt and foreclosure, income support, social security, legal advice regarding family law and domestic violence, personal career guidance, preparation for the job market, and financial and business counseling.
Along with personal guidance, Arous Elbahar offers group training through which it promotes women’s financial independence through language learning (Hebrew and English), computer literacy, different empowerment courses enriched by direction on employment, financial education, health rights and more.
The Coronavirus pandemic exposed an additional dimension in discriminatory Israeli policies against disadvantaged populations in general and against Arab citizens in particular. The gap between the responses offered to the Jewish and Arab populations was especially noticeable in the lack of appropriate responses for the Arab population, leaving this population exposed and vulnerable both in terms of health and finances, leading to the exacerbation of problems such as poverty, educational gaps, and more. Arab society confronts these gaps on a daily basis in Israel. During this period, Arous Elbahar dealt primarily with advocacy and lobbying and joined many other civil society organizations in approaching local administrations and governmental ministries to highlight the needs of vulnerable groups including the Palestinian women of Jaffa in coping with the pandemic, for example:
Education: filing a request for support for the union of workers of educational and cultural institutions in Tel Aviv-Jaffa.
Women’s health: providing medical and psychological assistance to meet the unique needs of Bedouin women living in unrecognized villages in the Negev.
Gender equality: submitting a request for women to be part of political decision making in the Knesset, and a request that women from a range of societal groups will be represented in the team of experts on dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic.
Public advocacy: filing a report against the Ministry of Health’s publications for the Arab population for enforcing stereotypes and prejudices.
Violence against women: filing a report calling for the establishment of a committee of inquiry to investigate rehabilitation for violent men in order to protect women and children.
Support for the third sector: filing a request for support and a work plan to help nonprofit organizations avoid collapse.
Humanitarian activities: distributing food parcels in particular for the Easter holiday and the month of Ramadan, in addition to distributing clothes for families in need.
Arous Elbahar continued to serve the women of Jaffa in a variety of areas including finding work, dealing with the Israeli Employment Service and social security, domestic violence, legal counseling over the phone and more, while facing the threats of the Coronavirus pandemic and the complex period – that continues to this day in light of the lasting results and societal changes.
Under the threats of the Coronavirus pandemic, Arous Elbahar continued to serve the women of Jaffa in the areas of finding work, dealing with the Israeli Employment Service and social security, domestic violence, and legal counseling over the phone. This support continues to this day, in light of the ongoing consequences of the pandemic and the changes it made to society.
The Team
Sepha Yunus
Founder of Arous Elbahar, a social innovator and resident of Jaffa.
After identifying the community’s need for the establishment of a women’s center in Jaffa, Sepha Yunus founded Arous Elbahar in 2007 and managed the nonprofit for 9 years. Passing on the baton to new hands, Sepha joined the board of directors and now serves as the board’s chairwoman.
She holds a master’s degree in social work as well as an MBA, and is a certified organizational consultant.
Sepha has broad experience in the field of advancing employment both in the civil and public sectors. Recently, Sepha established the De Yaffa center, a social enterprise showcasing the rich Arab culture and heritage, while also advancing the local economy with an emphasis on the authentic and contemporary story of Jaffa.
Rawda Abu Amara
A member of Arous Elbahar’s management team supporting women’s education and change.
Rawda loves to help however she can, wherever she can.
Rawda holds a Bachelor’s degree in science and mathematics education, and is a guide in social education. She is a member of the Jaffa education leadership team and the PLA coordinator.
Rawda is a social activist and mother to four children
Nada
A member of Arous Elbahar’s management team.
Nada is a graduate of the Beit Berl College in informal education, and is also a graduate of an educational coordinator’s course at Tel Aviv University.
Nada has a record of twenty years of senior youth counseling and coordinating social education at the Amal professional school in Jaffa, and in the past she also managed a legal and accounting firm in Jaffa.
Today, Nada teaches Arabic classes to non-Arabic speakers.
Nada is a member of the board of six different nonprofits in Jaffa and Tel Aviv, and is active in a number of social organizations, including Ahoti and the Arab-Hebrew theater in Jaffa.
Nada has been honored as an outstanding citizen by the municipality of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and is a mother to three daughters and three sons.
Adira Abu Shehadeh
Social entrepreneur and the owner of the first Palestinian boutique in Jaffa.
Adira previously managed Arous Elbahar and has a deep connection to the organization. Adira believes in advancing women in Arab society in the occupational and social spheres.
Zahiya Kundus
A Jaffa native, social activist and manager of the center for academic-community relations at the Academic College of Tel Aviv-Jaffa.
Zahiya’s social activities with women started formally when she worked at Arous Elbahar, leading a group of women entrepreneurs at the start of their journeys and offering guidance and professional training to women in the job market. In addition, she ran workshops about financial education for youth in the eleventh and twelfth grades at high schools in Jaffa.
One of the most exciting and meaningful projects that Zahiya managed was educational completion for adults, in which both women and men participated.
Khulud Abu Lissan Mishawari
Jaffa-born, 25 year-old social activist.
Khulud joined the board of Arous Elbahar in 2022 and brought with her a new and youthful energy. Professionally, she is a social worker.
Today she coordinates the Purple Unit that aims to help senior citizens access rights at Wolfson hospital.