The Galil Jewish–Arab School is a

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

in Israel. Founded in 1998, it is the first Israeli school to have a dedicated joint

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

–

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

social structure. The school is located in

Eshbal Eshbal ( he, אֶשְׁבָּל, lit. ''Stachys'') is a kibbutz in northern Israel, located in the Lower Galilee near Karmiel. History Eshbal was founded in 1979 as a Nahal settlement. It was civilianised in January 1998 by a kvutza of 30 HaNoar ...

, a

kibbutz A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...

in the Misgav region of the

Galilee Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Galil ...

near the Arab-majority city of

Sakhnin Sakhnin ( ar, سخنين; he, סַחְ'נִין or ''Sikhnin'') is an Arab city in Israel's Northern District. It is located in the Lower Galilee, about east of Acre. Sakhnin was declared a city in 1995. In its population was , mostly Muslim ...

in the Northern District.

History

The Galil Jewish–Arab School was established in 1998 by Hand in Hand: Center for Jewish–Arab Education in Israel, an Israeli network for socially-integrated bilingual schools. In 2007, the school had a student body of 200 Jewish and Arab students (

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

and

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

) in grades 1 through 6. The school's students live in

, Sha’ab, and communities of the

Misgav Regional Council The Misgav Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית משגב, ''Mo'atza Azorit Misgav'' ISO 259-3 ''Moˁaça ʔazorit Miśgabb'') is a regional council in the Galilee region in northern Israel. The regional council is home to 27,421 people ...

, whose populations have expressed support for bilingual and multicultural education.

Educational model

In line with the multiculturalist objectives of Hand in Hand, the Galil Jewish–Arab School maintains an equal number of

and

students; each class has two teachers, one Arab and one Jewish, the school has two co-principals, also split between Arab and Jewish. Hand in Hand's approach to

bilingual education In bilingual education, students are taught in two (or more) languages. It is distinct from learning a second language as a subject because both languages are used for instruction in different content areas like math, science, and history. The t ...

aims to create equality, understanding, and coexistence between the Arab and Jewish populations of Israel, who often live segregated from one another due to the historical effects of the ongoing

Israeli–Palestinian conflict The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is one of the world's most enduring conflicts, beginning in the mid-20th century. Various attempts have been made to resolve the conflict as part of the Israeli–Palestinian peace process, alongside other ef ...

. Classes at Hand in Hand schools are co-taught by an Arab and Jewish teacher, and consequently integrate student learning in both

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

and

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

. Teachers do not actively translate, providing a strong incentive for students to attain fluency in their non-native language.Judith Sudilovsky, "INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION/ A SPECIAL REPORT: Building bridges in Israel," ''International Herald Tribune'' (Paris), February 18, 2003.
/ref>

References

External links

About the school on the "Hand in Hand" web site

A slideshow presentation about the school
{{DEFAULTSORT:Galil Jewish-Arab School 1998 establishments in Israel Charities based in Israel Israeli–Palestinian peace process Non-governmental organizations involved in the Israeli–Palestinian peace process Schools in Israel

History

Educational model

See also

References

External links