Thanks to your donations to our campaign, we will be able to expand our work to promote a shared future, and renew hope.
If you didn’t get a chance to donate during the campaign, you are still welcome to contribute now
Help us continue this essential work
We would also like to express our gratitude to our wonderful ambassadors, who played such a significant role in the campaign!
Thank you to everyone who took part, donated, shared, and mobilized for a shared purpose: to ignite hope and work toward a better future for all of us.
Ruthi Eliasi-Shuster – Dialogue group facilitator in the ‘Open House’ initiative in Ramle
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We can already see the impact of programs that promote dialogue and a shared sociey
| ‘Meeting Place’ Programme at Azrieli college Last year, a pilot of a new program was launched at Azrieli College in Jerusalem, in collaboration with the college’s academic staff. The results reported by the college staff following the pilot year highlight the processes and the program’s impact: significantly more students worked in mixed groups than in previous years, there was less friction, more collaboration between students from different cultures and national groups, which all came together to create a much more positive and supportive learning environment. The program was developed in response to the rupture that followed the events of October 7th and the war in Gaza, aiming to provide an academic–educational response to the social divide and the challenges of multicultural joint learning at this time. It includes five meetings for Israeli and Palestinian students who study side by side in the same department. The meetings are part of the college’s educational curriculum and are included as part of the first-year academic requirements for departments that chose to participate. The meetings provide students with dialogue tools, create a safe space for open discourse, break down the walls of fear between students, and put the “elephant in the room” on the table – the complex identities that fight each other outside the classroom. |
Intercultural encounters are not free of power imbalances, which inevitably arise when Palestinian students study in an Israeli academic institution—sometimes leading to tension and friction. Therefore, the way academic institutions relate to joint learning and cultural diversity not only as challenges but also as opportunities—for meeting people from different backgrounds and creating a shared, equitable space—is essential and deeply meaningful, especially in times like these.
Creating familiarity and fostering dialogue within academia, among students learning together, is a pressing need. This program responds to a real and growing necessity that has intensified during the complex recent years.
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Despite the instability of the past period, the uncertainty, and the fear of renewed escalation, we continue to choose the path of dialogue and action. We reaffirm that building an equal and shared society is the only way forward, and it is what will create the hope that is so essential.
Thank you for walking with us on the path toward a reconciled society, where every national group, culture, and religion has a place in our shared space
