Hand in Hand is transforming Arab-Jewish relations in Israel through the power of shared living. When people live and learn together every day, they cannot be enemies. Hand in Hand’s six schools and communities have formed a resilient shared society of Jews and Arabs across Israel…..read an article published by recent graduate, Lana Tibi in the HIH Jerusalem high school paper
A bit about Lana: She was chosen to represent Hand in Hand on stage at the People’s Peace Summit back in April, and told the story of the arson attack on her classroom when she was in the first grade. The crowd erupted with applause when Lana added, “but the racists went to jail and I’m graduating high school.”
Without further ado, I Didn’t Think the Day Would Come When I Would Speak About Peace, by Lana Tibi: I spoke on stage at the People’s Peace Summit conference this spring, and seeing so many Arabs and Jews who truly want and demand peace stirred up many thoughts in me. That day at the conference, I realized how much more mature and inclusive my own thinking about the other side had become, even when it impacts my own people… With all of the national pride inside me and love for my identity and my land, I still find a way to listen to opinions different from my own, even though they are always hard to hear. I understand that above all, being a human being is what matters most, no matter your religion or nationality.
The video of my speech at the peace conference was posted publicly, and of course I was curious to see the comments. Many were heartwarming and so moving, but of course there was negative criticism too. But the negative comments weren’t just comments — they were the most racist sentences I’ve seen in my life and I was in complete shock. I thought to myself, what makes a person become so frighteningly racist? Why choose to write such awful things?
But as I read these comments, I realized how much I’ve grown. I won’t stigmatize an entire group because some of them are violently racist. I still believe in peace and will continue to believe in peace, even when called a “stinking Arab woman” as casually as someone says, “good morning.” I know that if these people took the time to really listen and see the full picture, they too would want peace.
Maybe it’s not simple. Maybe it’s even far off. But for the first time in my life, I believe that it’s not impossible.
We’re missing our sweet kids these days! And hope they’re having a great time at water parks or riding their bikes or eating ice cream.
We hope that this summer break will also be a break from sirens and violence, the kind of summer that every kid deserves.
Meet Yosef! The sweetest violinist-multilinguist-2nd grade rock star around!
Back in the winter, Yosef performed a concert for his Hand in Hand Jerusalem classmates and their families, and now we’re able to share it with you too.
