Community Development

Key Arab and Jewish faculty members for the Salaam Shalom Educational Foundation trained at Waldorf institutes in Germany and England and taught at Harduf Waldorf School which has the largest Waldorf high school in Israel. Mazan Ayub from Shfaram who trained at Emerson College in England taught the Arabic language and culture in Harduf for the past eight years and is a consultant to the Salaam Shalom Educational Foundation. Amin, from the Sawayed Bedouin community, trained as a Bothmer gymnastics instructor in Germany is in charge of all physical education at Harduf Waldorf School and will teach at the Salaam Shalom Educational Foundation. While the past 15 years has seen an explosive growth of Jewish Waldorf trained teachers in Israel, these Arab teachers are some of the pioneers who are seeking to integrate the traditional values of the Arab community with the principles and ideas of Waldorf education.

Harduf Waldorf School is pan-regional and its 450 students, Jewish and Arab, come from over 50, mainly rural communities in the northern part of Israel. Harduf Waldorf School is affiliated with Kibbutz Harduf, the donor of the land on which the Salaam Shalom Educational Foundation will be built.

Kibbutz Harduf, established in 1982 by a group of young people dedicated to a sustainable lifestyle, is located on a hill in the Lower Galilee overlooking biblical Mount Carmel, the Valley of Zevulun, and the modern city of Haifa. The population of Harduf today is about 300 mainly Jewish/Israeli plus some members from other countries, mainly from Europe, and there is one member of Arab origin married to a Jewish woman of American descent. Kibbutz Harduf grew rapidly as more young people with similar aspirations joined, many of them after training for several years in Europe in various Waldorf inspired institutions. Most Harduf members are engaged in one of the educational/therapeutic initiatives on the hill.

In addition youngsters and grown ups from Arab communities around Harduf participate in various seminars in Harduf and school classes from the neighboring Arab schools meet on a regular basis with same age classes from Harduf.

Many of the teachers of Harduf Waldorf School live in Harduf while the others commute daily like the students. The Harduf Waldorf School has been recognized by the Israeli Ministry of Education. The teachers receive their salaries from the ministry and the local authorities support Harduf in the construction of the school buildings. At the end of the high school years the students attend the Israeli national matriculation exams. The Salaam Shalom Educational Foundation as an independent educational institution will differ from the Harduf Waldorf School in that it will be seeking accreditation as an international high school thus allowing its students to focus more on the task of learning rather than preparing for national exams. Because of this, the Salaam Shalom Educational Foundation will not be receiving government funding and will be dependent upon donations and grants.

 

Arabic Waldorf Teacher Training

Harduf and Neighboring Communities

Education, Therapy, Social Activism, Organic Agriculture

 

 

 
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