The Jerusalem Post
Israel’s ‘Hand in Hand’ project gets partnership award
By STEPHANIE HODES
Nov. 24, 2010

Project won special praise of the jury for never having wavered from its conviction: that Arabs and Jews have a future together.

The international BMW Group Award for Intercultural Commitment was presented for the first time last week, awarding an Israeli educational training program for Jews and Arabs third prize.

The project, called “Hand in Hand – Building Tomorrow’s Leaders,” was initiated by the Israeli Center for Jewish-Arab Education and provides high school graduates from different religious backgrounds the opportunity to undertake solid vocational training. The center was founded in 1997 with the objective to build peace between Jews and Arabs in Israel through the development of bilingual and multicultural schools. Working in partnership with Israel’s Ministry of Education, Hand in Hand has obtained certification for all four of its schools in Jerusalem, the Galilee, Wadi Ara and Beersheba. This particular project is aimed at creating a viable new form of partnership and peace education between Arab and Jewish children, families and communities through media and leadership development training.

Organized by the BMW Group, the international competition supports individuals and initiatives that are committed to enhancing relations between people from different cultural, religious and linguistic backgrounds. With over 300 submissions from 40 nations, Hand in Hand managed to convince the jury of six experts in the final round of judging that they were worthy of this award. The award was presented last week at a gala evening ceremony at the BMW Museum in Munich.

Hand in Hand also won the special praise of the jury for never having wavered from its conviction – even in a difficult and sometimes dangerous social and political environment – that Arabs and Jews have a future together, provided they live in an integrated society offering the younger generation equal opportunities in education and career development.

“These awards are given to highly innovative projects, which can be implemented in a range of contexts,” said awards chairman Harald Krüger during the ceremony. “I am delighted that the BMW Group will be providing support and assistance to the plans of these project initiators as part of a long-term partnership.”

Winning projects have been awarded prize monies totaling €25,000 (NIS 125,000) and will receive active support from the BMW Group for a period of one year.

Jodie Cohen Asaraf, director of development at Hand in Hand, told The Jerusalem Post that the award has given the organization the support and encouragement to continue working on this project and initiating others similar to it.

“For the kids and staff at Hand in Hand, this award means that people in the outside world recognize the importance of what they are doing and of the lifestyle they are living every day,” she said. “It validates what we are doing and gives us the energy to persevere. Such exposure helps us to spread the message of Hand in Hand both in Israel and around the world and to show those who doubt that peace is possible, that it indeed is. We have over 900 students at four schools plus their families and the staff and their families who live this dream everyday.”

Asaraf is confident that Hand in Hand will remain dedicated to the continuation of this project and that this award is just a part of the funds that they are already committed to raising to ensure that the project is successful.