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© 2024 Craig Stennett
Nice usage in The Times of Israel from one of my assignments in the country. This time with the Hand in Hand foundation of Israel. These images have been used quite a few times which is always good to see. Brief History of Hand in Hand from the original published article i wrote to accompany the phot essay; ‘The Hand in Hand educational concept was given birth in 1997 by Amin Khalaf, an Arab teacher and lecturer, and Lee Gordon, a Jewish-American social activist, after they met while working in their respective fields promoting Arab-Jewish dialogue in Israel. The schools they pioneered host an equal number of Jewish and Arab students respectively, two teachers simultaneously in both Arabic and Hebrew hold the lessons. Judaism, Islam and also Christianity are taught with equal weight to all students, and each faith’s respective religious holidays are also observed. Emphasis is given not only to one’s own culture and language but also to those of the "other". The children study two accounts of history: the creation of the "Jewish homeland" as well as the narrative of the Palestinian struggle. The success of this academic formula is still reassuringly apparent as students regularly outscore their peers in Israel’s matriculation exams and also attain a higher rate of college attendance. It is nothing short of a revolutionary approach within the tight confines of the Israeli Educational System. Almost every other school that teaches the one million children of Israel is segregated along racial and religious lines – not by law but by the tradition that can trace its roots back to times before the establishment of the State of Israel of 1948, when Palestine was under the British Mandate. Arabs go to Arab schools and Jews to Jewish, they always have. This isolation, the lack of contact and communication between the two communities that both inhabit the "Holy Land" is established from an early age. Hand in Hand's mission is to overcome this.‘ #israel #photojourna