Building our Future’s Leaders: Lior Aviman Jerusalem High School Principal

Together with all the responsibilities that surround being the new principal of the Jerusalem Hand in Hand Junior and Senior High School, Dr. Lior Aviman also spends several hours of his day teaching. But his 10th grade students don’t gather in order to learn the regular subjects of any school’s curricula: they’re there to attend a leadership course.

Lior Aviman (on right) with UK Foreign Minister David Miliman            

His strong connection with Education started in his early years in Beer Sheva, being the son of a teacher and a psychologist, his mother and father, respectively. Ever since the army, he was involved in educational courses as an instructor.  After his mandatory service, he began raising money for an educational radio program broadcast by children.  Then he became an educator and coordinator of a school in Jerusalem and followed by being in charge of an institution for children and youth at risk.

His very own professional path has taught him that education is, indeed, the key to solving social problems. That principle is even more apparent  in Hand in Hand: “We are pioneers of ideals concerning peace and tolerance. Avant-garde is never popular, because it’s new; people are often more comfortable with repeating prejudices without thinking because it’s easier.” In a school where tolerance is lived rather than only being a topic taught to its students, the transformation in regard to addressing any kind of conflict happens deep inside each and every student, for they really learn to take the other’s point of view into consideration.

One of his goals as the principal, is to have all of Hand in Hand’s students educated in higher values and through high pedagogic standards, so they’ll be fully prepared to enter university as opened minded academics and likely leaders in our society.  Our graduates can become leaders in this society.  They will not accept the stereotypes that are so common about Arabs and Jews held by each other.  They are being taught to speak out based on their experience and will be a force for positive change here.

Lior feels that Hand in Hand is, “ideologically” his home, and hopes that many additional schools will be in up and running within the next five years, passing on the message that it is possible to live in a society filled with values of acceptance and mutual respect. “These students are the future of Israel, and I hope they’ll have the strength to continue talking about tolerance, acceptance and about Jews and Arabs living together.”

His plans for the high school are to offer students to specialize in science, communications, and art in addition to all of the compulsory subjects that the Ministry of Education requires.  He is always working on creating a specialization in “Conflict Management” which he feels that Hand in Hand can uniquely provide as a model to the rest of Israel.

Patricia Casoy
Dec/08