By Itzhak Rabihiya Rivlin congratulated those involved for taking responsibility for the future of Israel's children and helping them to acquire a mutual Israeli identity of equality in which they can all take pride. "You are the creative lab of our future". The President hosts end-of-year event for 'Israeli Hope Standard,' which promotes 'partnership' education between members of different sectors. President Reuven Rivlin hosted today (10.7.2019), Wednesday, the end of year event for "Israeli Hope Standard", an in-depth study conducted by the aChord Center for Social Psychology at the Hebrew University. The study provides schools with a professional and effective infrastructure for promoting partnership education in the spirit of "Israeli Hope". “Israeli Hope in Education” is a joint initiative of Beit HaNasi, the Ministry of Education and the Lautman Forum, and is part of the president’s flagship program for strengthening partnership and civility in Israeli society. The national pilot is being held for the third year in ten schools, and a pilot is being held for the first time in the Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality. The event was attended by Tel Aviv-Jaffa Mayor Ron Huldai and principals of the schools taking part in the project. The president began his remarks by saying: "This event is all about our future and that of our children. You, dear friends, take it upon yourselves, with great courage and commitment, to be the creative laboratory of this future. It is a future in which our children will feel secure and proud of their personal identity. A future in which they will agree to disagree on a variety of issues and areas and will still be able to work together to build a productive and prosperous society and economy. A future in which they share basic principles of fairness and equality, joint responsibility and ensure the future of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, a democratic and Jewish state.” "I would like to take this opportunity to pay special tribute to the Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality and all parties involved, as the first city to adopt the model of partnership and to integrate it into a comprehensive municipal plan for the city's schools," he said. Speaking to Mayor Huldai, he added, "the revolution you are leading in the city in the field of education is a model and inspiration for the entire State of Israel." The president congratulated the principals and teaching staff who are leading the project for the second year and said, "thank you all, for your leadership, for your responsibility, and for the great hope that you are planting in our hearts." 
Ron Huldai, Mayor of Tel Aviv-Jaffa: "Recently, we have witnessed a narrowing of the boundaries of discourse in education, which translates into narrowing the boundaries of discourse in Israeli society as a whole. Values that were clear in the past, such as freedom of expression, equality before the law, the independence of the judiciary, values which are at the core of every democratic state, have become issues of controversy. In the face of this storm we must stand strong, and President Rivlin’s “Israeli Hope” program is a wonderful start. We must educate our children with values and develop their critical faculties. We need more education in the humanities and a broader syllabus so that democratic values are already developing in the early years of education." Attached photo credit: Haim Zach (GPO) |
