Unique in a Divided Land, Israeli School Embraces Jews, Muslims, Christians

c. 2004 Religion News Service JERUSALEM _ Tucked away in a working-class neighborhood, the Hand in Hand elementary school is unlike any other in this ethnically and religiously diverse city where children of different faiths are rarely educated together. Here, Jewish, Muslim and Christian kids literally learn hand in hand. In the fall, the school’s […]

c. 2004 Religion News Service JERUSALEM _ Tucked away in a working-class neighborhood, the Hand in Hand elementary school is unlike any other in this ethnically and religiously diverse city where children of different faiths are rarely educated together. Here, Jewish, Muslim and Christian kids literally learn hand in hand. In the fall, the school’s hallway bulletin boards overflow with drawings of shofarim, or ram’s horns, to mark Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year. Next to those are renderings of the ascent to heaven of Mohammed, the Muslim prophet, from the Haram al-Sharif, or Temple Mount _ an image inspired by Ramadan, the Islamic holy month. In December, students learn the history and traditions of Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, and Christmas, the Christian holiday commemorating the birth of Christ. Such even-handed treatment of sacred days is rare here. While there is no legal separation between religion and state in Israel, and children of various faiths receive a great deal of religious instruction in their own culturally separated schools, Jewish and Arab children, whether Muslim or Christian, rarely if ever attend the same school together. The handful of Israeli schools that do recruit a diverse student body tend to be private and international in nature, with many foreign students. In contrast, the three schools established by the organization Hand in Hand attract Jewish, Muslim and Christian kids from nearby communities. Two schools _ one in Jerusalem, the other in the Galilee, were established in 1997 by Lee Gordon and Amin Khalaf, Israelis of Jewish and Arab origin respectively. A third school, in the Arab village of Wadi Ara, opened in September. Combined, the schools have more than 500 students. What makes the schools unique is their absolute commitment to equality: Christianity, Islam and Judaism are given equal time in the classroom, as are Hebrew and Arabic. Each class has two full-time teachers, one of whom speaks to students solely in Arabic, the other solely in Hebrew. On a Monday, students may sit through a math class taught in Hebrew; on Tuesday, the lesson will likely be in Arabic, or a combination of the two languages. Within a few years, the students are more or less bilingual and well versed in the basics of Islam, Judaism and Christianity. Though the children receive the same basic instruction in all three religions, there are times when students of one faith receive supplementary, more in-depth instruction in their own religion. Ala Khatib, the Jerusalem school’s Arab co-principal, says that his school succeeds “because there is no distinction between Arab and Jewish children here. They all sit together and learn science or math or art together in Arabic or Hebrew. We don’t differentiate.” Despite the inherent tensions built into a program that brings together such a diverse group of people with sometimes conflicting national aspirations, the schools do not shy away from politics, according to Dalia Peretz, the Jerusalem school’s other co-principal. Referring to the terror attacks, military incursions and other painful events that contribute to the cycle of Arab-Israeli violence, Peretz says, “When we deal with a subject, we tackle it from two points of view. The children can say what they think, but they know that they must respect other people’s feelings.” (OPTIONAL TRIM BEGINS) On occasion, the monthly meetings between the parents can be heated, say the administrators. Among the topics debated: whether the use of Jewish symbols as national Israeli symbols, including the Star of David and Hanukkah menorah, exclude non-Jewish minorities; how to mark Israeli Independence Day, which Palestinians refer to as “the catastrophe”; and whether it is appropriate to display an Israeli flag at school events _ a notion many Israeli Arabs reject but which most Israeli Jews take for granted. The very fact that parents, students and teachers are prepared to discuss such contentious topics in a respectful way “exemplifies our ideology,” Peretz says. “We believe in the equality of people, of religions and national identities.” The school’s ideology shines through in a hallway exhibit of a dozen or so drawings related to the theme of peace. In one brightly colored drawing, both Israeli and Palestinian flags emerge from a globe. Another drawing depicts a girl with angel’s wings suspended in the air. The air that encircles her is light, while everything else in the background is black. (OPTIONAL TRIM ENDS) The students, who switch effortlessly between Arabic and Hebrew as they roughhouse on the playground, are aware that their school is unusual. “At first, studying alongside Arabs takes some getting used to,” admits 9-year-old Itamar Koretsky, who now counts many Arabs as his closest friends. “When you grow up in a Jewish home, you’re taught certain things. But when I came to class and met everyone, I realized that there are good Jews and bad Jews, good Arabs and bad Arabs. Some Arabs are better than some Jews.” Itamar often visits his Arab friends in their villages, and they sometimes visit his home. “My first friend here was an Arab,” Itamar says nonchalantly. “We’re doing what we can to have peace.” “I like knowing other people, not just Arabs,” says 11-year-old Basel Eid, explaining why she opted to attend Hand in Hand rather than an all-Arab school in her village. “I learned about the Holocaust, which was a terrible thing. The Jews live here too, and we need to know that there are good people on both sides.” Peretz, the co-principal, says that statements like these make her often difficult job worthwhile. “When you hear on the news about what is going on outside these walls, it’s easy to get desperate,” says Peretz. “But when you’re here many hours a day, you see the beautiful alternative. It gives you energy to go on.” MO/PH END RNS

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