Friends of the Daniel Centers for Progressive Judaism

Through a variety of education, economic development, and community-building programs we bring together Israeli Arabs and Jews in the historic yet impoverished city of Jaffa. Our main focus is a mixed public school (Weitzman) where we teach a co-existence curriculum for kindergarteners, with plans to expand into several more classes/grades. This challenge is all the more daunting given the pressing socio-economic issues faced by the students and their families. Another highly successful program is our Side-by-Side tours. We train Arab and Jewish guides to conduct tours of Jaffa where each provide their own personal narrative to the Israeli-Arab conflict. Thousands have taken part in these tours. In September 2009, we launched a MASA program with BINA and URJ that provides a co-existence track for post-college men and women.

The Daniel Centers for Progressive Judaism aim to strengthen Israel's democracy - and collective community - by connecting Israelis to a Judaism grounded in liberty, equality, social justice, and pluralism.