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Assistance With Living...
ABOVE AND BEYOND
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Enjoy friends from the
old neigborhood and
make new friends. *,
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-. !Ay-
tesy of Hand in Ha nd
1
Fleischman Residence/
Blumberg Plaza
Students at the Max Rayne Hand in Hand School decorate their Chanukah meno-
rah with the school's founding values in Hebrew and Arabic.
6710 West Maple Road, West Bloomfield
Eugene and Marcia Applebaum Jewish Community Campus
COMMON GROUND
All lower-grade classes in Hand in
Hand schools are team-taught by two
teachers, one Arab and one Jewish.
The children become fluent in both
languages and speak a mish-mash on
the playground.
There is no formal religious instruc-
tion, but the children learn about the
Hebrew and Christian scriptures and
the Koran and about Jewish, Christian
and Muslim holidays. They learn
Israeli history from both the Jewish
and Arab perspectives. The school
celebrates Israel Memorial Day and
Independence Day, but recognizes that
those holidays may be difficult for the
Arab students and makes participation
voluntary.
"We teach that in wars, everyone
loses," Gordo said.
The schools have developed a stellar
academic reputation, leading to inter-
est from parents who hadn't previously
been involved in coexistence activities,
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• Personal Care Assistance
• Laundry,
Medication Administration
Housekeeping and
• Health Clinic
Transportation
Safe, Secure Environment
• Beauty/Barber Shop
• Complete Kosher Meal Service • Nosh Nook/
• Respite Rooms
Gift Shop
Not everyone in Israel is thrilled with
the philosophy of the Hand in Hand
schools, which encourage sharing and
equality among their Jewish and Arab
students.
Last fall, after 10 graffiti attacks, the
first-grade classroom at the Jerusalem
Hand in Hand school was destroyed by
arson fire. Three haredi Jews are now
serving prison sentences for that crime.
The following day, more than a
thousand people came to the school
to demonstrate their support, includ-
ing some Orthodox rabbis and lead-
ers of conservative political parties,
said Lee Gordon, co-founder of the
Hand in Hand schools and director
of its American support organization.
Israel's president, Reuven Rivlin, met
with the first-graders at the President's
UP TO
A IMMEDIATE OCCUPANCY
AUTUMN
SPECIAL $50u off First Month's Rent
For information or to visit us call
Tracey Proghovnick, Lmsw
248-661-1836 TTY# 711
www.jslmi.org
People of all faiths and beliefs are welcome.
A
JEWISH SENIOR LIFE
Supported by
The Jewish Federation
OF METROPOLITAN DETROIT
2052270
30 December 3 2015
For more information about the Hand in Hand
schools, visit www.handinhandkl2.org.
Overcoming Opposition
Recreational, Educational, Cultural & Spiritual Programs
Sunday tours available by appointment.
laN a residence of
Gordon said. All the schools have wait-
ing lists, and several communities have
reached out to ask Hand in Hand to
start new schools.
"We will never be a majority of
schools, but we could be large enough
to become an influential movement,"
he said. Those involved with the
schools hope to get the message to
a broad cross section of Israelis that
shared existence is possible.
In Israel, he said, a majority of citi-
zens, both Jews and Arabs, say they
want peace — but a majority also say
they don't believe it's possible.
Hand in Hand students disagree.
They don't see "Jew" or "Arab," they see
"my friend," Gordon said.
A third-grade boy, asked in a video
Gordon showed what he thought about
Arabs, said, "They are like Jews, just a
little different" *
Residence.
On Dec. 7, 2014, two girls from the
school, one Arab and one Jewish,
joined President Barack Obama and
his wife at the White House to light
Chanukah candles using a menorah
made for the White House by students
at the school.
"We represent about 1,200 students
and 5,000 adults — parents, teachers
and community members from around
the country — that are committed
to Jewish-Arab shared living in Israel,"
Mouran Ibrahim, the Arab student, told
President Obama.
Obama said,"Inbar and Mouran and
their fellow students teach us a critical
lesson for this time in our history: The
light of hope must outlast the fires of
hates' *