Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History 

accessible at www.djnfoundation.org

62 | APRIL 20 • 2023 

Children Learning Hand in Hand
O

n our recent Israel adventure with the Federation of 
Metropolitan Detroit’s Motor City Mission, JN Editorial 
Director Jackie Headapohl and I took a diversity 
excursion in Jerusalem. It was a most enlightening experience.
Our first stop was the Hand in Hand Center for Jewish-Arab 
Education. In short, this is a school where Jewish, Arabic, Druze 
and Christian children learn together. As the Hand 
in Hand website states: “Our goal is to establish and 
operate fully fledged bilingual, integrated Hand in 
Hand schools in every mixed Jewish-Arab area in 
Israel.
” 
Moreover, it declares that “the future of our 
children is at stake, and we therefore must continue 
to fight and advocate for equality and freedom in this 
land for those of all religions and backgrounds.
” It is 
a noble mission, and we wish them every success.

At the school, we met three students, two Arab Israeli and 
one Christian, and two administrators. Their presentations and 
comradery gave us a great deal of hope and reinforced the school’s 
mission. Another good omen for Hand in Hand’s continuing 
success is that it opened its first bilingual seventh-grade class in 
Haifa, its second middle school in Israel, last fall.
So, when I returned from Israel, I dove right into the William 
Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History to see if the 
JN had written about Hand in Hand. Yes, it had. There are two JN 
articles about the Hand in Hand program, which was founded in 
1997. Its first school, a kindergarten, opened the following year.
Sidebar: At the risk of sounding a bit biased (well, I am the 
archivist for the Davidson Digital Archive!), I am always amazed, 
every time I enter the Davidson Archive, at the comprehensive 
coverage of Israel over the last 100+ years. 
Regarding Hand in Hand, see 
“Optimism in Israel” in the Jan. 7, 
2010, JN. This is a report about Amin 
Khalaf’s and Lee Gordon’s visit to 
Congregation Beth Israel in Ann 
Arbor. Khalaf is the co-founder and 
former president of Hand in Hand. 
Gordon is the other co-founder 
and current director of the 
American Friends of Hand in Hand 
organization.
Khalaf made some important 
points. First, the schools are 
recognized by Israel’s Ministry 
of Education. Second, of salient 
importance, the students at the 
school work to master both 

Hebrew and Arabic to foster greater understanding of each other’s 
culture through its language. This facet of the school’s curriculum 
continues to this day. 
Five years later, the JN published “Learning Together: Israel’s 
Hand in Hand Schools Show Coexistence is a Real Possibility” 
(Dec. 3, 2015). This is a report on Gordon’s whirlwind tour of 
Detroit, when he visited both 
synagogues and a Muslim center in 
Metro Detroit.
Today, Hand in Hand is still 
growing and highly successful. 
More than 2,000 students, ages 
3-18, study together in seven 
schools across Israel. 
I’ll let the words of Ann Arbor 
resident Susan Greenberg conclude 
this column. In 2010, Greenberg 
had two grandchildren enrolled 
in the Hand in Hand school in 
Jerusalem. She said, “The impact on 
the children is unmistakable. They 
bond, they genuinely care for each 
other.
” 
Yes, indeed, when Jackie and 
I visited the school, hope for the 
future was there in front of our 
eyes. 

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN 
Foundation archives, available for free at 
www.djnfoundation.org.

Mike Smith
Alene and 
Graham Landau 
Archivist Chair

MIKE SMITH

First-
graders at 
the Hand 
in Hand 
School. 

