How it all began… 10 years ago, a group of determined Haifa parents decided enough was enough. They were tired of the separation between Jews and Arabs in their city. They wanted to raise their kids together, as equals, in a bilingual, multicultural setting. The Haifa school, like all…

On Monday May 16th, we at Hand in Hand celebrated the official opening of the new Max Rayne Hand in Hand High School building together with the Jerusalem Foundation and our generous donors. While the new building has been fully operational since September 2021, many donors have not been able…

 Over the past few weeks, hundreds of students, parents, and teachers have participated in Iftar events at Hand in Hand’s seven schools and communities across the country. These events took place in honor of Ramadan, which is the holiest month in Islam. Ramadan this year also coincided with Passover…

  On March 22, 2022, Hand in Hand hosted a joint webinar with The Abraham Initiatives, a shared society non-profit organization that advocates for policy change in Israel across various fields, such as economic development, education, policing, and equal representation. The webinar featured Efrat Meyer, principal of the Max Rayne…

As the lead providers of bilingual, integrated, and multicultural education in Israel, Hand in Hand’s schools navigate a multitude of unique challenges. Israel’s public education system is segregated—tracking students into Jewish and Arab schools. There are, therefore, no readily available bilingual educational materials tailored to the needs of our schools.…

The “Naot Ma Ba’ad—Moving Together” Jaffa Women’s Festival: “Naot Ma Ba’ad”—which means ”Moving Together” in Hebrew and Arabic—is the name of a recent festival that took place in Jaffa from March 3-5.[gallery columns="2" size="large" ids="18043,18042,18041,18040"] The festival is run by Jaffa-based women facilitators, movement and arts practitioners, who lead workshops…

Meet Zohar Shahar Zohar is a Hand in Hand parent, the former Wadi Ara community organizer, a founding member of the Hand in Hand “Bridge over the Wadi” school, and co-facilitator of the cultural dialogue “Madrassah” in Wadi Ara. She is a filmmaker and co-founder of the non-profit organization Medical…

Meet Rana Abu Fraiha Rana is a filmmaker and facilitator who co-leads the Hand in Hand cultural dialogue “Madrassah” program in Wadi Ara. The first Bedouin woman director in Israel, Rana wrote and directed the acclaimed documentary film In Her Footsteps, which won the best director for a documentary award…

We are delighted to announce that Hand in Hand has been awarded the 2021 Global Pluralism Award, which celebrates excellence in the field of pluralism. 10 finalists were chosen out of a list of several hundred, and three organizations were selected to receive the award, including Hand in Hand. This award…

At Hand in Hand, students learn that being engaged, responsible citizens means caring for the environment along with the people living in it. Our approach to education and shared society work is multifaceted and humanistic—an amalgamation of art, history, science, and environmental studies—all within an equal and shared framework. Noa…

2021 showed us just how vital our community work is and will continue to be next year. After May’s escalation in violence, bringing our communities together was crucial for healing and for continuing to build a shared and equal society. Today we reflect back on the dialogue groups, learning “Madrassah”…

  Jewish, Muslim, and Christian students in Jaffa and Haifa took part in their annual Christmas-Hanukkah celebration recently. Hundreds of our students got their holiday spirit on with their communities by hosting shows, games, and decorating. This yearly tradition connects us in joy.