Hope is what we do.
OUR VISION is for all people of Palestine to have life in abundance.
OUR MISSION is to raise awareness and support for Dar al-Kalima University, the first and only university of arts, culture, and design in all of Palestine.
Bright Stars of Bethlehem is the U.S. nonprofit fundraising arm for Dar al-Kalima University, with a campus in Bethlehem, Palestine, and continued work in Gaza. Dar al-Kalima University is an arts and culture-based university, focused on degrees that support the local economy. It sees arts education not as a luxury, but a way to breathe in a suffocating context.
This year, 552 students are in Bethlehem, building futures rooted in possibility, with an additional 36,000 youth healing and thriving through art therapy services in Gaza, led by 46 Dar al-Kalima staff and volunteers. Through our Threads of Hope fundraising campaign, we invite you to stand alongside them because when we invest in young people and give them the tools to create, lead, and thrive, hope becomes more than an idea. It becomes something they can carry forward.
See Dar al-Kalima University Through Rick Steves’ Eyes
For more than 50 years, Rick Steves has encouraged travelers to go beyond the surface, using travel to connect people and cultures. Rick invites all of us to be citizens of the world and understand those around us through genuine human connection. Rick's travels to Palestine have connected him to the remarkable work happening at Dar al-Kalima University in Bethlehem.
Dar al-Kalima is a university unlike any other in Palestine, empowering young people with opportunities to pursue higher education in the arts, culture, design, film, tourism, entrepreneurship, and other creative fields. Here, students develop their talents, build careers, tell their own stories, and enrich their communities.
Our Work Continues Because Of People Like You
At Dar al-Kalima, art is more than creative expression. Through Art Therapy, creativity becomes a powerful tool for healing, connection, and hope.
Art Therapy
The Rubash Garden and Café is a place where students, visitors, and community come together, creating space for hospitality, conversation, culture, and connection.
Rubash Garden and Cafe
Through her fashion designs, Raneem transforms deeply personal experiences into art that tells a story. Her journey is one of the many Threads of Hope being woven at Dar al-Kalima, where students are given the opportunity to discover their voice, develop their gifts, and create something meaningful from what they carry.
Threads of Hope
“Our aim is that our people, who admire stars, will dare to look up and dream, to believe in goals to strive for, and develop a new sense of hope, community, beauty, and faith.”
- Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb
