Hand in Hand is transforming Arab-Jewish relations in Israel through the power of shared living. When people live and learn together every day, they cannot be enemies. Hand in Hand’s six schools and communities have formed a resilient shared society of Jews and Arabs across Israel. We see the impact of our work in our students, alumni, families, communities, government officials, and in the media. While each individual impact makes a difference on its own, the cumulative effect is far-reaching. We are showing what is possible in Israel: a shared and equal society between Jews and Arabs.
It is crucial that we continue to grow, meet local demands, and expand our schools and communities. The more we can leverage the momentum we have built, the bigger the transformation we will be able to achieve.
Join us, and together we will turn a society riddled with conflict and violence, to one of cooperation, friendship, and equality.
Israeli children go to separate schools and rarely interact with each other, contributing to deep-rooted divisions and intergenerational hatred. In this society, Hand in Hand students are unique. In 2023-24, over 2,000 Arab and Jewish students from ages 3-18 are learning together in six bilingual, multicultural schools. They study together in a values-infused environment where equality, tolerance and togetherness are the norm – day after day, and year after year. They are equipped with a strong sense of mutual respect and are empowered to go out and change society.
Hand in Hand’s award-winning schools are in high demand. With requests to build new Hand in Hand schools in additional locations, we know that growing numbers of Israelis across the country are seeking an alternative for their children. We plan to continue our growth until there is a Hand in Hand school in every mixed region in Israel, offering this alternative way of life and learning to thousands more across the country.
Over 700 incredible young women and men have graduated Hand in Hand schools. Our students graduate with a passionate commitment to social action alongside a finely honed sense of empathy, a nuanced understanding of society, and the uncommon experience of having already lived the values of mutual respect and equality. They are our best ambassadors for shared living, and are equipped to advance their beliefs in the world around them, bringing change to their universities, service institutions, and work places.
Behind every Hand in Hand student is a family making the remarkable choice to educate their children in a mixed Jewish-Arab school. The collective force of thousands of these families, living their values of equality despite the conflict, creates a new way of life in Israel. This new way of life plays out in their homes, with their friends, family, local communities, and places of work. Parents at the school are politicians, judges, lawyers, policy makers, academics, artists, and much more. And they take the transformation they experience at Hand in Hand wherever they go, changing the norms in the world around them to be more inclusive and equal.
We cannot rest of all of our hopes for the future on the shoulders of our children. We have established flourishing adult communities around each of our schools that live, learn, and celebrate together throughout the year. Hand in Hand’s communities are having an outsize effect on the cities where we operate, and the country as a whole. In our host cities throughout Israel, bilingual children’s programming has spread to other institutions like libraries and day care centers. Community centers are partnering with us to create programming for integrated Arab-Jewish audiences. Hand in Hand communities are active together – bringing the voice of equality to local neighborhoods and all of Israeli society. These communities are making change today, so they can build a more equal society for the next generation.
Hand in Hand staff and community members work closely with city administrators and Ministry of Education officials in every location where we open and operate schools. Our staff members present the Hand in Hand story at professional conferences countrywide and beyond, and advise municipalities on how to bring values of pluralism, tolerance and Jewish-Arab understanding into other schools in the city. Many public officials are impacted by their engagement with Hand in Hand, and have gone on to enact policies like offering forms in two languages and encouraging local businesses to offer Arabic translations. Each year this impact widens, furthering new developments toward greater inclusion in society.
“I take my hat off to you, you have changed Jaffa. There has never been such a massive demand for one kindergarten. Something real has taken place here.” -Senior Tel Aviv-Jaffa Education Official
