The family that shaped my future

The author speaks to an audience during the Sanabel visit to Chicago in July.

When people hear about Sanabel, they may assume it’s simply another leadership program for teens. After three years in the program, I can confidently say it became much more—it helped shape the person and leader I am becoming. 

Created by JUF in 2023, Sanabel is a 10-year leadership development program for Druze youth from 15–25 in Israel. Each cohort includes 27 participants, selected from more than 450 applicants.  

We are an Arabic-speaking ethno-religious community known for our strong emphasis on education, service, loyalty, and contributing to Israeli society. Throughout the years, the Druze community of Israel has produced remarkable military officers, educators, physicians, entrepreneurs, and public servants.  

Sanabel helps prepare the next generation to continue this legacy with confidence, values, and responsibility. Before joining Sanabel, I believed I already had everything I needed to succeed. However, I discovered that the program first and foremost helped me grow. It shaped me not only as a leader, but as a person. 

Every meeting, seminar, and project challenged me in a different way. I learned how to turn ideas into action, present myself with confidence, pursue ambitious goals, face uncertainty and failure, embrace different perspectives, listen to others, and better understand myself and the kind of leader I want to become. 

Sanabel also helped me better understand what it means to belong to a minority in Israel. It showed me the potential within my community and the responsibility we have to create positive change wherever we go. 

More than anything, Sanabel gave me a second family, a circle of people I can rely on. Through my mentor and conversations with inspiring Druze and Jewish leaders, I gained the confidence to begin my own journey as a young leader. I genuinely believe that Sanabel changes lives because it invests in people long before they become tomorrow’s decision makers. 

In my first year, I built and installed bird nests with food and water in my village, together with my father and the local council. In my second year, my Sanabel peers and I transformed a neglected area in the Druze village of Peki’in into a public park with the support of the local council, donors, and volunteers. 

These experiences taught me that meaningful change begins with one simple idea, grows through teamwork and perseverance and becomes possible when people believe in one another. They also reminded me that opportunities like these exist because people choose to invest in young people they may never have met. 

I’m most grateful for my visit to Chicago. One of my fellow trip participants shared an insight that resonated with me: The Druze community in Israel and the Jewish community in America have much in common. Beyond both being minority communities, we share a deep commitment to Israel and values including responsibility, respect, brotherhood, and service. 

Before traveling to Chicago, I believed leadership was mainly about creating projects and solving problems. I soon realized that true leadership is also about generosity, investing in people, and building communities where everyone feels responsible for one another. 

During our conversations with Sanabel donors, I was deeply moved by how genuinely interested they were in us. Their humility, kindness, and open hearts made conversations feel sincere and personal. 

I returned home understanding that making an impact is not only about what I accomplish myself, but also about how I inspire others to believe in their own potential. 

Sanabel taught me that leadership means taking responsibility not only for my own community, but also for Israeli society as a whole. Whatever path we choose, we carry these values with us. 

Strengthening Druze leadership is not only an investment in the Druze community—it  is an investment in Israel’s future. 

Amal Nafaa is an 18-year-old Israeli Druze from the village of Beit Jann. She is a fourth-year participant in the Sanabel Druze Leadership Program.