The secondary school program (junior high and high school) at the Hand in Hand Jerusalem School is the only integrated Jewish-Arab high school program in Israel. As such we are committed to maximizing the chances of its success as a model for Israeli society: a place where we can show that Jewish and Arab teens and young adults can succeed into adulthood together as friends and colleagues, and ideally a program that can be scalable and replicated at future schools in other communities in Israel. We view the high school years as a primary age cohort to work with in helping to cement social ties between Arab and Jewish citizens of Israel; as an arena where we can work to create numerous new kinds and levels of partnership between the two communities and where youth leadership can play an important potential role in helping to resolve the conflict.
It is clear to us that to succeed in this initiative we need to provide a top-notch, quality high school program that will ensure the Hand in Hand school be attractive to as broad a range of students as possible; that is it not enough for our high school program to be bilingual (Hebrew and Arabic) and integrated, but that students will be drawn to continue in Hand in Hand beyond elementary school and junior high by the pedagogy and academic programs offered. As such we are planning to implement a communications program at the Jerusalem school, with an emphasis on filmmaking, enabling the students to gain skills in this technology and simultaneously working to communicate the mission of Hand in Hand to a wider public.
Hand in Hand Center for Jewish-Arab Education in Israel was founded in 1997 as a social entrepreneurial venture to build peace between Jews and Arabs in Israel through the development of integrated, bilingual and multi-cultural schools. The founders of Hand in Hand recognized that education is a critical tool for building civil society and designed a bilingual, multicultural education program to support a more pluralistic, equitable Israel. At Hand in Hand schools, classes at each grade level are balanced between Arab and Jewish children. Students are taught in both Hebrew and Arabic, learning to treasure their own culture and language while understanding the difference of others around them. Hand in Hand has established four integrated schools in Israel, now serving over 900 Israeli Arab and Jewish children.
Over the past ten years, teachers at Hand in Hand have literally invented the field of Hebrew-Arabic bilingual, multicultural education in Israel. The overall school program now extends from pre-school to high school instruction, and includes after-school programs at some campuses. While violence between Israeli and Palestinian people continues to ravage Jewish and Arab communities alike, the students of Hand in Hand gather together on a daily basis, learn in both Hebrew and Arabic, make friends and build common ground. Jewish and Arab families in Jerusalem, Wadi Ara, the Galilee and Be’er Sheva have been able to share a school community and together invest in a peaceful future for their children. Arab and Jewish teachers are working together to teach an extraordinary, innovative bilingual curriculum that balances affirmation of Jewish and Arab cultures with cross-cultural learning.
Today, over 900 Arab and Jewish children in Israel study in Hand in Hand’s four schools and there are plans to open additional programs in other communities (namely the cities of Haifa and Tel Aviv). While peace will not break out tomorrow solely due to the work of Hand in Hand, it is clear to that peace-making between Israelis and Palestinians will need both high level, top down global and local diplomacy, AND community based grassroots initiatives, such as Hand in Hand, aimed at building partnership and reconciliation at the local community level. Hand in Hand is part of the broader mosaic of peace making initiatives that are working separately and together to build peace between these peoples.
The proposed grant investment underwrites a pilot communications and social change leadership academy at the Hand in Hand Jerusalem campus. Students in upper grades will work closely with professional videographers in residence to develop technical skills in video production and communications technology. The residency will produce a series of student-created (and professionally polished) video works presenting Hand in Hand students at various age-levels engaged in working out key issues of Jewish-Arab relations in Israel. The interactions among students (subtitled in English, Hebrew and Arabic) will be posted on-line, shown at public events, and disseminated directly to policy makers and civic leaders. It is the goal of this pilot program to develop into a full-fledged Communications and Social Change Leadership program and curriculum at the school.
Hand in Hand students (grades 4-12) gain in skills in communications, technology, media literacy and advocacy; the project produces valuable tools to broaden awareness about the potential for integrated schools as a step toward a more peaceful and egalitarian society in Israel. A total of 240 students will benefit from the project.
A successful pilot can also serve as a first step toward a comprehensive communications and social change leadership academy, integrated into the regular operations of the high school. This academy will also serve as the hub of a high profile outreach and advocacy effort designed to improve conditions for further development of integrated education in Israel.
Name of Organization:Hand in Hand American Friends of the Center for Jewish-Arab Education
Number of Paid Staff:2 f/t, 2 p/t, 100 in Israel
Number of Volunteers:500
Total Organizational Expenses:$1,306,703
% of Organizational Overhead Expenses:20%
Hand in Hand is the only organization in Israel that is building a network of integrated schools for Jewish and Arab children and youth.
Four-year-old Noah has recently completed her first year of kindergarten.
Noah's parents, Olga, an immigrant from the former Soviet Republic, and
David, fourth generation Israeli, send her to an Arab-Jewish kindergarten
in Jerusalem, which is a part of the Hand in Hand bilingual school. David
told me that he had been totally against the idea, as he felt that Noah was
too young to be put in the "middle of the conflict", but at Olga's
insistence he went to see the kindergarten. "Within half an hour of being
in the kindergarten I was convinced that this was the place for my
daughter. I saw the children playing, heard singing and talking in Hebrew
and Arabic, heard the teachers telling stories in both languages and
realized that there was no conflict here. This is the way it is supposed to
be. What amazed me was how totally natural and normal it all was. So the
next day we registered Noah for the kindergarten."
A year later both parents were in total agreement that it had been a
wonderful year, "Noah now understands, sings, counts, and has an ever
growing vocabulary in spoken Arabic. She has Jewish friends, Arab friends,
has visited Arab homes, Jewish homes, celebrated Jewish holidays, Christian
holidays, Moslem holidays and all this while from her point of view just
experiencing a totally normal, stimulating and fun filled kindergarten."
The parents added that for them personally it had been a very special,
challenging and enlightening year, in which they had benefited tremendously
from the constant contact and dialogue with the other parents and staff.
Hand in Hand has succeeded together with the children, their parents, the
rest of the community, the Ministry of Education, and local authorities to
build a cooperative framework that allows all involved to study and develop
together, sustaining and strengthening each group's language and cultural
traditions while learning about the other group on the basis of equality
and mutual respect. Magda, from Bet Safafa, is the mother of Azam, a
ten-year-old who has been in the school for five years. Magda sums it up
"we are equal in this school. That is why I feel equal to the parents, an
Arab teacher feels equal to a Jewish teacher, and my son feels equal to the
Jewish child sitting next to him"
Contribute to Peace
Diversity
Harmony
Israel
Learning
Relationships Between People
Adopting Hand in Hand at your Bar or Bat Mitzvah project;
• Creating a local e-mail/pen-pal connection between your school and one of the Hand in Hand schools
• Hosting students from Hand in Hand in your home and in your community and at your school.
• Visiting Hand in Hand schools when you come to Israel, either with your family or on your own.
• Spreading the word about Hand in Hand on Facebook.
• Volunteering at one of the Hand in Hand schools or at a Hand in Hand summer camp during your summer vacation or after you graduate high school
• Creating a local support group fro Hand in Hand at your school, in your synagogue or among your friends
• Encouraging your parents to become involved and supportive.
• Skype with Hand in Hand students in Israel.
• If you are involved in a Jewish youth group, such as NFTY or USY, encouraging your local chapter to host Hand in Hand students at a regional conference or “Kallah”.
• Organizing a local fundraising event or program for Hand in Hand in your community.
Name:Lee Gordon
Title:Executive Director
Address:P.O.Box 80102
Telephone:(503) 892-2962
Email:lee@handinhandk12.org
Website:www.handinhandk12.org