Hand in Hand: Center for Jewish Arab Education in Israel
Encyclopedia
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
: יד ביד: המרכז לחינוך יהודי ערבי בישראל, Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
: يدا بيد: مركز التربية اليهودي العربي في إسرائيل)is a network of award-winning bilingual (Hebrew-Arabic) schools where Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel
Arab citizens of Israel
Arab citizens of Israel refers to citizens of Israel who are not Jewish, and whose cultural and linguistic heritage or ethnic identity is Arab....
can study together. Hand in Hand was co-founded by Israeli Arab educator Amin Khalaf and Israeli American educator Lee Gordon in 1997 with 50 students at two campuses.
History
Misgav
Misgav, Misgab may refer to the following:* Misgav Regional Council , a regional council in Israel* Misgav Am, a kibbutz in Israel* Misgav Dov, a moshav near Gedera* Misgav Ladach, a private, limited-service hospital in Jerusalem...
and one in Jerusalem. These first two schools grew, and in the summer of 2003, a group of interested parents from the Wadi Ara
Wadi Ara
Wadi Ara or Nahal Iron , refers to an area within Israel that is mostly populated by Arabs. It is located northwest of the Green Line and is mostly within Israel's Haifa District. Today, Highway 65 runs through the wadi.-Geography:...
region in the Arab Triangle met to express interest in establishing a third Hand in Hand School in their region.
After delays which included difficulty winning recognition from the Israeli Ministry of Education, the Bridge over the Wadi (Gesher al HaWadi, Hebrew: גשר על הואדי) school opened on September 1, 2004, with 106 students. Since then, enrollment at the Wadi Ara school has risen to 195. The teachers come from Jewish and Arab towns in the area. The school has the largest number of male teachers of any Hand in Hand school, and there are two co-principals, one Arab and one Jewish.
Hand in Hand's fourth school opened in September 2007 in the city of Beer Sheva, where 60 Arab and Jewish students study in two kindergarten classes. On October 21, 2007, Hand in Hand's Max Rayne
Max Rayne
Max Rayne, Baron Rayne was a supporter of medical, religious, education and arts charities in England.-Early life:...
school opened in Jerusalem's Pat neighborhood near the Arab village of Beit Safafa
Beit Safafa
Beit Safafa is an Arab neighborhood in south Jerusalem midway between the Jerusalem neighborhoods of Patt and Gilo, on the outskirts of Bethlehem. Beit Safafa had a population of 5,463 in 2000. It covers an area of 1,577 dunams.-History:...
. The new campus was built with $11 million from donors including the Jerusalem Foundation, the Rayne Foundation, and other European donors. Including the new Beer Sheva school, Hand in Hand now serves close to 1,000 students.
Educational philosophy
- Creating an alternative model of education integrating Arab and Jewish children
- Teaching bilingualism, multiculturalism and equality
- Building a community of children, teachers, parents, extended family and neighbours through friendship and concrete action
- Breaking negative stereotypes and cultivating mutual respect and understanding
- Engaging local municipalities, regional councils and the national government in a process of dialogue and reconciliation
- Creating model classrooms where half of the students are Jewish and half are Arab, with Arab and Jewish teachers working together, speaking each other's language and educating for tolerance and co-existence
- Providing a dynamic example that Jews and Arabs can study, work and live together in peace.
Schools
Today nearly 1000 students study at the four Hand in Hand schools in Jerusalem, the GalileeGalilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
Region, Wadi Ara
Wadi Ara
Wadi Ara or Nahal Iron , refers to an area within Israel that is mostly populated by Arabs. It is located northwest of the Green Line and is mostly within Israel's Haifa District. Today, Highway 65 runs through the wadi.-Geography:...
, and Beer Sheva.
•Hand in Hand Max Rayne Jerusalem School (founded 1998, 400 students)
•Hand in Hand Galilee School
Galil Jewish-Arab School
Galil Jewish-Arab School is the first joint Arab-Jewish primary school in Israel, founded in 1998 by the Hand in Hand: Center for Jewish Arab Education in Israel, which also runs three other bilingual schools in Israel...
(founded 1998, 200 students)
•Hand in Hand "Gesher al HaWadi" School
Hand in Hand – Bridge over the Wadi
Hand in Hand – Bridge over the Wadi is the third joint Arab-Jewish primary school in Israel, founded in 2004 by the Hand in Hand: Center for Jewish Arab Education in Israel, which also runs three other bilingual schools in Israel...
(founded 2004, 200 students)
•Hand in Hand Beer Sheva School (founded 2007, 60 students)
Educational Philosophy
Hand in Hand's approach to bilingual educationBilingual education
Bilingual education involves teaching academic content in two languages, in a native and secondary language with varying amounts of each language used in accordance with the program model.-Bilingual education program models:...
aims to create equality, understanding, and coexistence between the Arab and Jewish populations of Israel, who often live segregated from one another. Classes at Hand in Hand schools are co-taught by an Arab and Jewish teacher, each teaching in his or her native language. Teachers do not translate, providing a strong incentive for students to attain fluency in the second language.
Controversy
In 2007, some neighbors reacted negatively to the Hand in Hand Max RayneMax Rayne
Max Rayne, Baron Rayne was a supporter of medical, religious, education and arts charities in England.-Early life:...
Jerusalem Bilingual school. While some residents harbored logistical concerns about issues such as traffic and parking, others were concerned about intermarriage and assimilation between Jewish and non-Jewish students.