Three Israeli schools teach coexistence by making Arabic and Hebrew education equal

Ala Khatib had a friend whose daughter spoke fluent Hebrew. Khatib, an Israeli Arab from the town of Tira in the Galilee, was intrigued to find out how such a young Arab girl could speak Hebrew so well.

He learned that she attended a Hand in Hand school, where Jews and Arabs learn together, in the same classroom, in both Hebrew and Arabic.

So when he saw that such a school in Jerusalem was looking for an Arab co-principal to supplement the Jewish one, he applied for the job. “It was really exciting to know about these schools,” he said.

Khatib was in San Francisco recently with Lee Gordon, the American Jewish founder of the Hand in Hand schools, which now has three campuses in Israel.

Gordon lived in Israel 18 years before returning to the United States several years ago. While the schools receive money from Israel’s Ministry of Education, they also greatly rely on donations from abroad, as they are more expensive to run. There are two teachers in every classroom — one Arab and one Jew — as well as two principals at each school. They are also developing a curriculum from scratch, since the Israeli educational system does not have one that is bilingual and that includes the history of both cultures.

Much of their private donations come from the Bay Area, both from the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation and private donors.

The Jerusalem and Galilee schools opened in 1998. In 2000, Hand in Hand opened its third school in Jaffa, but it did not receive enough support and had to close. Another one opened this year in Wadi Ara.

The Hand in Hand schools are an attractive draw for those who believe in co-existence (all three schools have waiting lists). They are also building an excellent academic reputation.

In fact, when the students from the Jerusalem Hand in Hand school took a test which determines who belongs in the “gifted” program, they took it in Arabic. Six students from the school made it to the second level, two of whom were Jewish. Only one made it to the highest level, and it was one of the Jewish students.

Khatib was extremely proud of this, and said that since the test was offered at an Arab school in East Jerusalem, with students from the area’s Arab schools, “there was this blonde girl, and nobody knew what she is doing there.”

When parents send their children to a Hand in Hand school, they commit to participating in activities, too. Many of the Jewish parents are enrolled in Arabic classes.

“We often watch movies together and have a facilitator to help us discuss it,” he said. “It’s amazing every time. We watch the same movie, but we’re thinking such different things.”

The years of 2001 and 2002 were particularly difficult in Israel, Khatib said. It was the height of intifada, and naturally, that affected the school, too. But no one left.

“We can disagree but we have to respect and listen to each other’s opinions and discuss things,” he said. “It’s all about dialogue, and we teach the skills of how to talk to each other, and how to talk about very sensitive issues.”

He continued, “Whether it’s an attack on Ramallah or a bus attack in Israel, there is not one Jew or Arab teacher alone, they have to do it together. Something that affects you affects me in a different way, but it affects us all.”

Visit www.handinhand12.org for more information.