Our Work

USAID West Bank/Gaza and the U.S. Embassy in Israel jointly invest in Conflict Management and Mitigation (CMM) grants, which support Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel, working on issues of common concern. The CMM program is part of a worldwide effort to bring together individuals of different backgrounds in people-to-people reconciliation activities. These activities provide opportunities to address issues, reconcile differences, and promote greater understanding and mutual trust by working on common goals such as economic development, environment, health, education, sports, music, and information technology. Since the program’s start in 2004, USAID and the U.S. Embassy have invested in 145 CMM grants.

GRANTS MANAGED BY USAID

Appleseeds Academy (2017-2020; $1,072,000): The Net@IT project provides information and communications technology (ICT) training to 240 youth from mixed cities within Israel. Participants receive 640 hours of joint ICT and leadership training to promote greater understanding and cooperation between Jewish and Arab youth.

Akko Center for Arts and Technology (2018-2021; $1,322,000): The Full STEAM Ahead project builds the skills and knowledge of over 900 Jewish and Arab youth from underserved communities in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math to better compete in a 21st century job market. By working together in a bicultural and bilingual environment, creating and innovating, students develop an inclusive view of one another and strengthen Jewish-Arab relations in Israel.

Ein Dor Museum for Archaeology (2018-2023; $1,550,000): The Youth Against Racism project develops filmmaking skills of 400 Arab and Jewish youth in the Galilee to advance peacebuilding. By telling the stories of racism and violence that affect them daily, youth use film to facilitate dialogue in their communities and enhance change among their peers and families.

Hand in Hand (2018-2023; $1,800,000): The Mainstreaming Shared Society project adds three more integrated schools to Hand in Hand’s growing network of Jewish-Arab bilingual schools in Israel benefiting an additional 2,500 students. The project supports local communities to establish and/or expand the constituency of Arab and Jewish families committed to building a viable, growing, and resilient shared society.

The Abraham Fund Initiatives (2018-2021; $986,000): The Shared Learning project bridges the cultural divide between 40 pairs of Jewish and Arab schools through language exchange studies. The project provides joint learning opportunities for 200 Jewish and Arab educators and over 2,000 students, promoting positive and constructive interactions and demonstrating that cooperation leads to greater trust and understanding.

Tsofen High Technology Centers (2018-2023; $1,800,000): The Tech Bridges project harnesses common interests among Jewish and Arab individuals to drive changes in perceptions and attitudes that stymie reconciliation and peacebuilding. The project mentors over 6,000 Arab and Jewish Israeli professionals and establishes 18 Israeli startups in predominantly Arab cities. By creating an increasingly integrated hi-tech industry in Israel, Tech Bridges fosters greater mutual understanding between Jewish and Arab citizens that inspire a more inclusive economy and shared future.

Leo Baeck (2019-2022; $900,000): The Building Shared Communities project partners with eight Jewish and Arab community centers in Israel to bring together both societies in a positive and meaningful way to advance solutions for shared local needs while fostering dialogue and cooperation between them.

Moona – A Space for Change (2019-2022; $900,000): The Bridging Professionals to Bridge Communities provides professional apprenticeship and on the job training to 192 Arab and Jewish young engineers from the North and South. The mixed heritage teams advance their shared goal of long-term employment through meaningful interaction.

Ort Israel (2019-2022; $1,200,000): The Bridges for Peace project trains Arab and Jewish students of Ort schools in mediation, social, and technological entrepreneurship. These tools help them advance their aspirations and work together in teams to generate multicultural social programs and technological solutions to daily challenges.

Unistream (2019-2022; $1,200,000): The Pillars of Shared Society project brings together around 450 Jewish and Arab Israeli teenagers to develop, establish and manage their own startup companies and business and social ventures while increasing cooperation and mutual understanding.

GRANTS MANAGED BY THE U.S. EMBASSY

A New Dawn in the Negev (2018-2020; $99,300): Building on the importance of direct interaction between neighboring Jewish and Bedouin communities in the Negev, the Building a Shared Society Between Jews and Bedouins in the Negev project develops practical and strategic mechanisms to build shared societies and promote mutually beneficial cooperative work and conflict resolution based on shared experiences between Israeli Jews and Bedouins living in six locations in the Negev desert region.

Itach Maaki Women Lawyers for Social Justice; Sub-partner: Adva Center (2018-2020; $118,830): The Shared Spaces: Fostering Women’s Activism Toward Creation of Urban Spaces project partners 80 Arab and Jewish women from bordering and mixed neighborhoods in Haifa and Acre to create shared cultural and social spaces for residents in their respective cities and to promote municipal policies for gender equality.

Merchavim Institute (2018-2020; $140,000): The Arab Teacher Integration in Jewish Schools project is a joint initiative with the Israeli Ministry of Education to place 500 Arab Israeli teachers in Jewish schools to teach core subjects in English, math, and science. This project provides opportunities for Jewish students and educators to have meaningful interactions with Arab citizens.

Ono Academic College (2019-2020; $150,000): The Accelerate to Management project brings together 32 Arab and Jewish students participating at the Tel Aviv University Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center to develop meaningful relationships through people-to-people collaborative work on joint entrepreneurship projects.

Peace Drums USA, Inc. (2019-2020; $150,000): The Peace Drums project trains 150 Arab and Jewish youth from five schools and communities in Haifa and Ma’alot-Tarshiha to play steel drums individually and as a group. This project introduces rhythm, harmony, peacemaking, and reconciliation to Jewish, Muslim and Christian youth in Israel through the shared activity of a dynamic steel drum band.

Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) (2019-2021; $150,000): The Establishment of a Joint Arab-Jewish Planning Forum project engages 25 Arab and Jewish forum members to foster Arab-Jewish cooperation to design solutions to increasing development rates and planning needs of both populations in the Lower Galilee region, focusing on open spaces for public use and the environment.

Towns Association for Environmental Quality (2019-2020; $150,000): The Galilee Fellows project targets 32 Israeli Jewish and Arab women to focus on environmental, economic, and social sustainability as a holistic framework for Jewish-Arab cooperation to address regional challenges in the Galilee.

Yod Bet B’Heshvan (2019-2020; $100,000): The Educating Towards Tolerance and Co-Existence project empowers a group of 30 key Israeli religious Jewish, Muslim and Christian Arab educators to work together to educate towards tolerance, co-existence and mutual respect.