Ismaili.NET - Heritage F.I.E.L.D.

Hand in Hand: Center for Jewish-Arab Education in Israel (Israel), Namati Kenya (Kenya) and Puja Kapai (Hong Kong) awarded for outstanding achievements in promoting inclusion worldwide

What began with 50 Arab and Jewish children, has grown to a robust network of seven schools with over 2,000 students, and thousands of families throughout the country. In every location where we have a school, our growing communities are trailblazing shared living in the face of tribal conflict and division. Our mission is to grow, and build a Hand in Hand school in every mixed Jewish-Arab city throughout the country, leveraging a shift from conflict to cooperation for all of Israeli society.

Hand in Hand is building inclusion and equality between Arab and Jewish citizens of Israel through a growing network of bilingual, integrated schools and communities. Launched in 1997 with 50 children, Hand in Hand now enrolls over 2,000 students in seven schools from Jerusalem to the Galilee. Hand in Hand was established to combat one of Israel’s greatest existential threats: the growing social alienation and lack of trust between Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel. We believe that education is key in changing this.