Hand in Hand in Jerusalem is a bilingual school for Jewish and Arab students. The staff in each of the four schools in the network is equally balanced between Arab and Jewish principals and teachers.


Every class is co-taught by teachers from both languages, and respect is the guiding principle. Lessons are in Hebrew and Arabic, and the co-teachers can divide the lesson subject or teach it together. The children, who follow Hand in Hand's motto - "Learning together, living together" - may look up to the adults for inspiration, but they also have learned to find their own way towards getting along and even beyond, to friendship.

There are currently Yad B’Yad (Hand in Hand) schools in Jerusalem, the Galilee, Wadi Ara and Haifa. In September, a new Hand in Hand bilingual school opened in Jaffa with a pre-kindergarten class of 35 Jewish and Arab students.

Hand in Hand's first school, opened in 1998, located in Jerusalem, has grown from 20 students in a makeshift classroom into the largest school of 530 students, with a high school that has graduated two classes of seniors. The student body is ethnically and religiously diverse - Arab Christian, Muslim, Armenian Christian, Jewish secular, Jewish traditional, and more. In January 2008, the Max Rayne Hand in Hand Jerusalem School celebrated the opening of a permanent, new campus, situated in the southern part of the city between the Arab community of Beit Safafa and the Jewish neighborhood of Patt.

While Jews and Arabs in this densely populated city live very near one another geographically, few form real or close relationships. At the Hand in Hand school, Jewish and Arab students become close friends, carrying these connections back to their families and neighborhoods.

Special characteristics of the Jerusalem school include its vibrant art program, founded by Jewish immigrant and artist Luna Etkes. Visitors are dazzled by walls covered with ever-changing student exhibits of paintings, photography, sculpture and more.

Hand in Hand: Center for Jewish-Arab Education in Israel's mission is to create a strong and inclusive society in Israel through a growing network of integrated, bilingual schools and shared communities for Jews and Arabs. Bringing together Jewish and Arab children from kindergarten through high school in its highly successful schools, Hand in Hand aims to build viable partnership, peace education, coexistence and equality.