Join Students on Their First Day of School at Hand in Hand Haifa, 2024
On September 1st 2024, after a long, challenging summer, Arab and Jewish students returned to the Hand in Hand Haifa campus for a new year of shared learning. This year, the school welcomed in 361 students, including 2 first-grade classes (a first at the school!)—all on their new campus which they moved into last year. This is a major accomplishment, made possible by committed Arab and Jewish families who spent years lobbying the municipality for a dedicated campus in the mixed city of Haifa.
Meirav Ben Nun, a founding HIH Haifa parent, explains in the video: “We’re celebrating the fact that we have two 1st grade classes for the first time. We’re at the new building which we moved into last year. We finally have our own independent building. The children feel like they’re really part of something. Look here at the schoolyard, children playing in both languages, and turning our vision into a reality. They show us that it’s possible. Even in the impossible reality we live in.”
“Look here at the schoolyard, children playing in both languages, and turning our vision into a reality. They show us that it’s possible. Even in the impossible reality we live in.”
Just weeks later, school would be interrupted once again, due to near-constant rocket barrages in the north. As of the end of October 2024, Haifa students are still attending school part-time in accordance with current safety guidelines.
We will continue to ensure the safety of all our students first and foremost, and hope for the safety of all children in this region—and indeed, everywhere. We remain committed to supporting our students in every way possible—academic, emotional, and financial—whilst shining the light of radical hope, even in the darkest of times.
May we all see better days soon.
