Formation | 2006 |
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Headquarters | Beersheba, Israel |
Executive Director | Sam Shube |
Website | https://www.hajar.org.il/en |
Hagar Association | |
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Location | |
Israel | |
Information | |
Established | 2007 |
Grades | PreK-6 |
Enrollment | 380 students (2023) |
Language | Arabic, Hebrew |
The Hagar Association (He: לשוני בהגר) also called Hagar – Jewish-Arab Education for Equality, is an educational organization located in Beersheba, Israel. The organization runs a bilingual school that serves both Jewish and Israeli-Arab children from preschool through sixth grade. It is the only integrated school in the Negev in southern Israel. [1] [2]
The organization also organizes cultural events in the community, and manages Scout Troop Adam, the country's only scouting troop with both Jewish and Arab members. [3] [4]
Hagar Association was established in 2006 by Jewish and Arab community organizers and educators from Beersheba. [5]
In 2021, Hagar Association launched their Thaqafat initiative, which aimed to organize joint Arab-Jewish cultural events in the wider community. Events have included musical performances, poetry readings, and art exhibitions. [4]
In March 2022, the group organized a concert in Rahat. [4] In April, they organzied a joint Iftar- Mimouna community meal. [3] [4]
In 2023, the group organized Beersheba Performing Arts Center's first Arab-Jewish concert. [4]
In 2024, the group plans to stage four traveling art exhibitions with Rana, a Bedouin art center based in Rahat. [6]
The school serves both Jewish and Arab-Israeli children, [1] and attempts to balance enrollment so the student population is half Jewish and half Israeli-Arab. [5]
For its first year of operation in 2007, the school only offered a kindergarten class. [4] [7] By 2009, the school offered preschool, kindergarten, and first grade, serving 72 students. [5] The following year, enrollment increased to 140, with daycare, second, and third grade classes also being added. [5] As of 2023, 380 students attended the school. [4]
Each class has a Jewish and an Arab teacher, with lessons being presented in both Hebrew and Arabic. [1] [2] [5]
The school's curriculum includes lessons about shared values in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, [1] [4] and field trips bring students to places of worship in the city. [8] Holidays from the three religions and Israel's Independence Day, Nakba Day, and Yom HaShoah are all observed, with lessons focusing on universal values such as responsibility and empathy. [2]
The school encourages students to undertake projects, such as letter-writing campaigns, to promote the equality of Hebrew and Arabic in the community. [8]
In 2019, the school also opened the country's first "multi-age bilingual early childhood education center" with USAID financial support. [7]
The association launched Scout Troop Adam in 2019, numbering about a dozen children at its inception. The troop was open to any children living in Beersheba, and by 2023 the group had over a hundred members. [4]