Galil Jewish–Arab School


Galil Jewish–Arab School is the first joint Arab-Jewish primary school in Israel, founded in 1998. It is located on land owned by kibbutz Eshbal, in the Misgav district of the Galilee, near the Arab town of Sakhnin.

History

The Galil Jewish-Arab school was established in 1998 by the, which also runs other bilingual schools in Israel.
In 2007, the school had a student body of 200 Jewish and Arab students in Grades 1-9. The students live in Sakhnin, Sha’ab, and communities of the Misgav Regional Council, whose populations have expressed support for bilingual, multicultural education.

Educational model

As in all Hand in Hand schools, Galil School strives to maintain an equal number of Arab and Jewish students; each class has two teachers, one Arab and one Jewish, the school has two co-principals, Arab and Jewish.
Hand in Hand's approach to bilingual education aims to create equality, understanding, and coexistence between the Arab and Jewish populations of Israel, who often live segregated from one another. Classes at Hand in Hand schools are co-taught by an Arab and Jewish teacher, each teaching in his or her native language. Teachers do not translate, providing a strong incentive for students to attain fluency in the second language.
The school exposes the students to all three cultures and demonstrates the principles of democracy and social equality in a straightforward and practical way.