Hand in Hand: Center for Jewish-Arab Education in Israel

Hand in Hand: Center for Jewish-Arab Education in Israel (Hebrew: יד ביד: המרכז לחינוך יהודי ערבי בישראל, Arabic: يدا بيد: مركز التربية اليهودي العربي في إسرائيل) is a network of integrated, bilingual schools for Jewish and Arab children in Israel. Hand in Hand was co-founded by Israeli Arab educator Amin Khalaf and Israeli American educator Lee Gordon in 1997 with 50 students at two campuses.

Hand in Hand's mission is to create a strong and inclusive shared society in Israel through a network of integrated, bilingual schools and active communities. The organization's philosophy is that the actual living experience of its students, teachers, parents and others who participate in its schools and communities can inspire broad support for social inclusion and civic equality in Israel.

Hand in Hand now operates four schools with more than 900 Jewish and Arab students; next year there will be 5 schools with 1100+ students. More than 3,000 parents and other adults, Jews and Arabs alike, currently participate in integrated community activities organized by Hand in Hand. Over the next 10 years, Hand in Hand aims to create a network of 10 to 15 integrated bilingual schools, supported and enhanced by active communities, altogether involving more than 20,000 Israeli citizens. .

Hand in Hand was founded in 1997 by two Israeli educators, one Arab and one Jewish. They started the first two schools in 1998, one in the Galilee region near the Misgav Regional Council and one in Jerusalem. These first two schools grew, and in the summer of 2003, a group of interested parents from the Wadi Ara region in the Arab Triangle met to express interest in establishing a third Hand in Hand School in their region.

After delays, which included difficulty winning recognition from the Israeli Ministry of Education, the "Bridge over the Wadi" (Gesher al haWadi, Hebrew: גשר על הואדי) school opened on September 1, 2004, with 106 students. The teachers come from Jewish and Arab towns in the area.

Hand in Hand's fourth school opened in September 2007 in the city of Beer Sheva. This school is now fully independent of Hand in Hand.

On October 21, 2007, Hand in Hand's Max Rayne school opened in Jerusalem's Pat neighborhood near the Arab village of Beit Safafa. The new campus was built with $11 million from donors including the Jerusalem Foundation, the Rayne Foundation, and other European donors.

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