By Antje C. Naujoks, PR Director,
Neve Hanna Children’s Home
In my last article, for the American Friends, I wrote about “Neve Hanna in Turbulent Times.” Reflecting on developments since October 2023, I emphasized the vital importance of Neve Hanna’s coexistence projects, which have been central to our mission for decades: the Path to Peace —Israel’s only joint Jewish Bedouin daycare program for children from disadvantaged backgrounds—and our revived Jewish-Muslim youth meetings.
Shortly after publication, times truly became turbulent. The Ministry of Social Affairs transferred the administration of Israel’s daycare programs to local municipalities. As a result, our cross-municipal project—the Path to Peace was left unaccounted for, forcing us to close this daycare center established in 2004 in honor of Neve Hanna’s late founder, Hanni Ullmann.
Fortunately, our Jewish-Bedouin youth meetings were not affected. Unlike the cost-intensive daycare program, they are sustained through donations. These meetings—revived in 2021—bring together 16 teenagers every two weeks. About these activities, I wrote a year ago: “Neve Hanna feels it is a privilege to touch lives, to actively live the values of pluralism, which are a lighthouse to the Masorti Movement and at the same time a shining example that renders claims that the State of Israel is an apartheid state absurd.”
That is why, at the beginning of 2025, Neve Hanna founded the “Path to Peace Coexistence Center,” supervising not only our youth meetings but also a new “Jewish-Bedouin Young Leadership” group. Nine Muslim Bedouin and six Jewish teenagers are mentored weekly by one Jewish and one Bedouin educator.
During the initial phase dedicated to relationship-building, they baked pretzels, Shabbat challah, and traditional Middle Eastern flatbread. These shared tasks required communication, cooperation, and decision-making as a team — important first steps toward mutual understanding. The group also explored themes such as majority-minority relations and the rights and responsibilities of citizens. A highlight was when the Muslim youth joined the Purim celebration at the children’s home. Since the Jewish festival coincided with Ramadan, they held Iftar, the traditional meal that breaks the daily fast, in Neve Hanna together with our Jewish teens.
In the coming school year, the group will participate in intensive English lessons and a photography and video course. Our aim is to empower these young individuals while broadening their collective perspective. Inspired by David Ben-Gurion’s words, “Anyone who doesn’t dream is not a realist,” we hope that the “Path to Peace Coexistence Center” will become a vibrant hub of shared community life and, in addition, lay the foundation for a grassroots Jewish Muslim youth movement.
Written By Antje C. Naujoks, PR Director
Neve Hanna Children’s Home, Kiryat Gat, Israel
American Friends of Neve Hanna 