Hand in Hand Students React to "Madrassah" — New TV Series Set in an Arab-Jewish Bilingual School

A new ‘Kan Kids’ channel TV series by the name of “Madrassah” is making waves in Israel — and it takes place in a fictional Arab-Jewish bilingual high school. The series explores the unique and often entertaining complexities of attending an integrated school. But just how accurate is the series’ depiction of bilingual education, and the experiences of the students attending such a school?

In this multi-part series, Hand in Hand’s content channel “MishMish” — created by our own alumni — presents our high school students’ and graduates’ reactions to various scenes from “Madrassah.”

Part One

Hand in Hand students and alumni react to the series opening scene, which takes place on the first day of school. The students of this fictional bilingual high school find out that one of their classmates has transferred to a different school over the summer. They are deeply affected by this news, having spent their entire childhood together.

Part Two

This scene centers around food, and how customs around food and community differ between the Jewish and Arab students and families in the series. There is general consensus on the show that the Arab families make the best food, but what about in real life?

Part Three

In this scene, one of the high school students decides to begin wearing a hijab, and is worried what her classmates, a group that’s known her since preschool, will think.

Watch to see how our students and alumni react, and how they’ve been challenged to accept differences in others.

Part Four

In this scene, a Jewish teacher asks the students of the bilingual high school in “Madrassah” the pivotal question, can Israel be both Jewish and democratic, or are the two contradictory? Hand in Hand’s high school students and alumni react and reflect on the lively discussions that took place in civics classes about this very topic.

Part 5

In the final installment of this series, Hand in Hand students react to a scene about a Jewish and Arab student beginning to explore a relationship. The topic of mixed couples is one of the most talked-about in the context of Jewish-Arab integration, but what is it really like at Hand in Hand’s schools?