Mifalot: Know Your Neighbor

"Know Your Neighbor" was designed by Mifalot educational professionals to provide both conflict resolution instruction and life-skills training for Jewish and Arab youth (both male and female) by utilizing the power of football, a shared and beloved language between both communities. The uniqueness of football is that, once on the field, each groups' defensive walls fade and dialogue and understanding may begin. The basic model includes 90 minute regular weekly meetings, conducted separately, and bi-national, mixed meetings held throughout one full academic year. The youth learn how to respect and listen to others not like them and then have the opportunity to put those skills to use.

Meetings incorporate a professional football practice in which the coach uses incidents and situations that occur on the field and adapts them to the beneficiaries' lives and needs. Regional tournaments are held twice a year and are spectacular events, even covered by local media, for participants and their families. Additionally, throughout the program, beneficiaries learn about the importance of community involvement and how to be an agent of social change. Beneficiaries are Jewish and Arab youth of all ages located in peripheral communities across Israel. Youth from these communities (such as Holon, Hadera, the Western Galilee, Lod/Ramle) are rarely, if ever, in contact with one another and as a result, many hold negative attitudes towards the other. We currently have 62 groups (half Jewish and half Arab) - totaling 1,240 kids of all ages across Israel.  Some of the older Jewish and Arab participants receive occupation training to become sports instructors and take courses together throughout the year.

The program has a thorough evaluations and monitoring system, including questionnaires, observations by the coaches, and interviews. External research and evaluation is conducted by academic professionals within Tel Aviv University.