This school year, Principal Shireen Hafi-Natour will be the first Arab educator to teach in a religious Yeshiva in Jerusalem.
Hafi-Natour, principal of the Arab Ort School for Science and Engineering in the mixed city of Lod, was initially approached by Rabbi Yermi Stebinski, a friend and principal of the religious Himmelfarb Yeshiva in Jerusalem, with a personal request. He wanted to volunteer as an English teacher at her school as a personal act of outreach and deepening Jewish-Arab dialogue in Israel following attacks on the Arab family in the West Bank village of Kfar Duma.
Principal Hafi-Natour agreed and suggested an exchange in which she would teach Hebrew literature, her specialty, at the Jerusalem Yeshiva in return. Both principals will teach two hours per week at each others’ school. This will be the first time an Arab educator will teach at a religious Yeshiva.
Rabbi Stebinski says so far parents’ responses to the announcement have been only positive. For his part, he has long admired Hafi-Natour’s work in creating a tolerant and constructive atmosphere at the Ort Scientific School in Lod. Ths school is situated in the ‘Train Neighborhood’ in the mixed city, known for its difficult socio-economic status, high crime rates, and housing shortages and conflicting claims.
(photos: Principal Hafi-Natour, Himmelfarb Yeshiva)
Read a Hebrew article about the exchange, here.
Read more and see a video about Principal Shireen Hafi-Natour, here (also in Hebrew).
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Do you need support integrating these resources and issues into your philanthropic, communal, or Israel education work? Reach out for consultations, connections to experts, program support, training, or to plan your next event or mission. If you’ve used our resources, tell us about your experience!