"Hand in Hand's Communities are a Turbo Engine" - Shada Edress at HIH's Annual Communities Conference

In early February 2026, over 100 Hand in Hand parents and community leaders from across the network took part in the beautiful annual tradition that is the HIH Communities Conference. Shada Edress, our wonderful Communities Director, spoke powerfully about what enables her to hold on to faith and humanity amid rising cynicism and extremism.

“I thought about opening with a small confession, and say that for me, there are days – and not a few of them – when I’m a little discouraged, and sometimes even a bit cynical. I feel discouraged by the way. I feel discouraged by the fact that the destruction has become possible. From the stories of hostages who have returned. About the violence and crime in my Arab society, which is bleeding.

And then something else happens, that’s genuine. I meet the communities of Hand in Hand. People who insist on breaking down the divisions, on building deep partnership, that doesn’t just hold (still), but changes reality for a new generation. I go in to Zoom meetings at night, after a long day, and everyone’s there, parents, community members, sitting in a circle with people who keep talking, listening, persisting, even when there are no answers. And in these moments, truly, even with my longtime cynicism, it really straightens me out. Not with naive optimism, but with deep faith. Faith that there are people who haven’t lost their morals, within the reality of extremism and fascism. That there are Arab-Jewish communities that continue creating a space where it’s still possible to choose differently. And this is what you do.

You’re here out of choice, because it’s important intrinsic to you. I always see it in your eyes. And in my view, the communities are a turbo engine. Energy like this isn’t a given. It’s a choice, a choice and a political orientation. There are people here who each morning get up and choose partnership. Repeatedly making a choice that’s so substantial and human and important in our reality. And it’s action that’s leadership-driven, real, and profound.”