Hamsa Aleinu: Inspirational Stories of Everyday Israelis

Building relationships with people from different backgrounds than one’s own is an essential and enriching part of life. Learning from their stories and experiences, and sharing our own, informs how we relate to the world around us. The Hamsa Aleinu portrait exhibition provides an engaging tool to spotlight the partnerships between different groups within Israeli society today.

In partnership with Beit HaNasi (the Israeli President’s Office) and Vibe Israel, The iCenter crafted these resources for us to connect with the exceptional real-life stories of Israelis from all backgrounds, and the inspiring initiatives to which they have contributed.

This complete educational curriculum and Hamsa Aleinu photos are available for download, free of cost, for educational purposes. We also developed an abridged iteration to complement the fuller curriculum.

We look forward to hearing how you use these resources to bring Israel into your communities.

From the Office of the President of Israel

The Hamsa Aleinu portrait exhibition brings to life Israel’s unique and groundbreaking story, and sheds a light on the many faces that make up the cultural diversity of Israeli society.

Each of Israel’s “Tribes”—the secular, national religious, ultra-Orthodox, Arabs, and the Jewish communities abroad—can be found in this exhibition, which features true stories of prominent and inspiring people, projects, and activities that are helping to shatter prejudice, change paradigms, and break down boundaries.

The stories that make up the exhibition are living examples of what true cooperation amongst Israel’s Tribes can look like, and serve as an inspiration to us all.

“The stories that make up the exhibition are living examples of what true cooperation amongst Israel’s Tribes can look like, and serve as an inspiration to us all.”

Exploring the Stories

These activities utilize the power of photographs and authentic stories. They are designed for use in multiple settings and are most relevant for learners in middle school and above. They are written with in-person learning in mind but can also be adapted for remote learning.

This curriculum is divided into three main activities, each of which explores the vibrant mosaic of people that make up Israeli society. The activities are meant to be mixed and matched and adapted according to the learners’ needs. This resource aims to encourage learners’ personal connections with Israel and to inspire involvement in their local communities.