Building shared society in Israel
Pears Foundation funds a number of organisations dedicated to building a society in Israel that is truly shared among its residents, one in which every Israeli has an equal stake.
Pears Foundation's partnership has been vital in ensuring that AJEEC-NISPED is able to offer innovative programmes and promote Arab-Jewish cooperation locally and throughout Israel. Through our long-standing partnership, the Foundation has developed a keen and nuanced understanding of our needs as an organisation. We know that we can count on Pears for support that is appropriate and relevant, in line with our priorities and that will benefit tens of thousands of people - Arabs and Jews, students and professionals, families and community leaders.Ilan Amit and Sliman Al-Amour,
Co-CEOs, AJEEC-NISPED
Pears Foundation wants to play its part in building a shared society in Israel; one that offers equality, empowerment and peaceful co-existence for all those who make up Israel society – religious and secular, Jews and Arabs.
Promoting shared citizenship
We give core funding to:
- The Abraham Initiatives, which advances social inclusion and equal rights for Israel’s Palestinian citizens by influencing public policy, shaping public opinion and demonstrating practical models for a shared society.
- The aChord Center, which specialises in the social psychology of intergroup relations and aims to bridge the gap between academic research and work in the field.
- Co-Impact, which tackles the under-representation of Arab citizens in the Israeli workforce.
- Merchavim, which helps Israeli citizens, of all backgrounds, to learn about the other, value diversity, and create fairer classrooms, schools and communities.
We also support the Diversity and Inclusion unit at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which aims to foster a multicultural, tolerant, and pluralistic academic community.
Funding invested: £1.6million
Supporting the Bedouin community
AJEEC-NISPED (The Arab-Jewish Center for Equality, Empowerment and Cooperation – Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Development) is an Arab-Jewish organisation dedicated to the creation of a shared society, where Arabs and Jews live together while preserving their respective identity and culture. The organisation is founded on the traditional Bedouin community values of self-reliance and mutual aid, which provide a powerful impetus for transforming communities.
Initially AJEEC’s focus was the Arab Bedouin in the South of Israel, a community of 160,000 which constitutes the most disadvantaged sector of Israeli society in all areas of life: economic, social and educational. In recent years, the organisation has expanded its activities from the Negev to the centre and north of the country.
AJEEC operates in three main areas: Youth and leadership development, Arab-Jewish partnership, and community resilience. Their programmes include community volunteering, early childhood education, socioeconomic development, health promotion and Arab-Jewish partnership. Their youth movement, Shabibat AJEEC, is one of the first youth organisations of its kind and one of the largest informal education projects in the Arab community
Pears Foundation has been supporting AJEEC-NISPED since 2008 with unrestricted funding.
Funding invested: £1.25million
Leadership programmes for young adults
Citizens Build a Community is a grassroots organisation established in 2004 by local residents and professionals living and working within the mixed city of Lod, whose population consists of almost completely separated communities of Jews, Arabs, Bedouins and others. Lod has suffered from huge deficits that have led to the abandonment and closing of many social services. Citizens Build a Community focuses on the various needs of Lod’s diverse and at-risk neighbourhoods, with a particular focus on supporting young people from the Arab community.
In order to create a new generation of leaders who will be more engaged in the community, Pears Foundation has supported a programme that works with young people from the Arab community who are not in education, employment or training. The programme gives them leadership training, citizenship education and volunteering opportunities and supports them into employment.
Funding invested: £250,000
The International Award for Young People is the Israeli branch of the International arm of the Duke of Edinburgh’s award. Across its four areas of Physical Recreation, Skills, Adventurous Journey and Community Service, young people are equipped with essential life skills to make a difference to themselves and their communities. The programme is accessible to anyone regardless of background or prior experience and we have been funding them since 2004.
Funding invested: £1.2million
We also give unrestricted funding to the Hand in Hand integrated schools network, which you can read more about here and the New Israel Fund UK, which works towards equality and democracy for all Israelis.