Hand in Hand: Center for Jewish Arab Education in Israel

Hand in Hand: Center for Jewish Arab Education in Israel (Hebrew: יד ביד--מרכז לחינוך יהודי ערבי בישראל, Transliterated Hebrew: Yad b'Yad: HaMercaz LeChinukh Yehudi Aravi B'Israel, Arabic: يدا بيد--مركز التربية العربي اليهودي في إسرائيل) runs a network of four bilingual (Hebrew-Arabic) schools where Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel 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. ^[1] Today over 800 students study at the four Hand in Hand schools in Jerusalem, the Galilee Region, Wadi Ara, and Beer Sheva.^[2]

History

Hand in Hand's Galilee School

Two Hand in Hand teachers

Students from Hand in Hand's Galilee School

Hand in Hand was founded in 1997 by two Israeli educators, one Arab and one Jewish. They founded the first two schools in 1998, one in the Galilee region near Misgav and one in Jerusalem. These first two schools grew, and in the summer of 2003, a group of interested parents from the Wadi Ara 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.^[3] 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.^[4] On October 21, 2007, Hand in Hand's Max Rayne school opened in Jerusalem's Pat neighborhood near the Arab village of Beit Tsafafa. The new campus was built with $11 million from donors including the Jerusalem Foundation, the Rayne Foundation, and other European donors.^[5] Including the new Beer Sheva school, Hand in Hand now serves close to 1,000 students.^[6]

Schools

•Hand in Hand Max Rayne Jerusalem School (founded 1998, 400 students) •Hand in Hand Galilee School (founded 1998, 200 students) •Hand in Hand "Gesher al HaWadi" School (founded 2004, 200 students) •Hand in Hand Beer Sheva School (founded 2007, 60 students) ^[7]

Educational Philosophy

Hand in Hand's approach to bilingual education 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.^[8]

Controversy

Some neighbors have reacted negatively to the new Hand in Hand Max Rayne Jerusalem Bilingual school. While some residents harbor logistical concerns about issues such as traffic and parking, others are concerned about intermarriage and assimilation between Jewish and non-Jewish students.^[9]

See also

• Neve Shalom

External links

• Hand in Hand's English website

Footnotes

1. ^ "IIE AWARDS PRIZE TO FOUNDERS OF BILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL SCHOOLS", International Institute of Education, Press Release, June 14, 2007.]
2. ^ Akiva Eldar, "No Jews and Arabs, just Hebrew and Arabic", Ha'aretz, English Edition (Israel), September 9, 2007.]
3. ^ Daniel Ben Tal, "Israeli bilingual school bridges the gap between 'Shalom' and 'Salaam'," Israel 21c, September 5, 2004.
4. ^ Eldar, September 9, 2007.
5. ^ Donald Macintyre, "Peace studies: Children of Israel," The Independent (UK), October 25, 2007.
6. ^ Eldar, September 9, 2007.
7. ^ Eldar, September 9, 2007
8. ^ Judith Sudilovsky, "INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION/ A SPECIAL REPORT: Building bridges in Israel," International Herald Tribune (Paris), February 18, 2003.
9. ^ Ahinoam Pollack, "Projected coexistence," The Jerusalem Post (Israel), August 23, 2007.