Yad Hanadiv established its programme area dedicated to advancing the Arab Community over a decade ago, in keeping with its mission to work towards equal opportunity for the benefit of all Israel’s inhabitants.
The programme has sought to address issues of great consequence to this community of 1.9 million citizens. Underpinning the work is the belief that success demands the active cooperation of the community with Arab leadership incorporated in planning and execution. We appreciate the importance of utilizing evidence and knowledge to build, evaluate and make course corrections in our initiatives, and try to instil these values in the organisations we support.
Yad Hanadiv, in partnership with the government and the JDC, launched the Arab Employment Initiative in 2011 to address the need for accessible employment services (such as outreach, soft skills and vocational training, and interview preparation) for Israel’s Arab citizens. It included the establishment of Alfanar, an Arab-led non-profit, to manage Employment Centres around the country. In July 2019 the Initiative will transition to full government funding.
There are significant numbers of Arab students studying in scientific and technological fields, but the Arab Community remains underrepresented in high-level positions in academia and in the private and public sectors. The Arab Excellence Strategy seeks to encourage Arab talent in STEM – parlaying academic achievements of exceptional young Arabs in Science and Technology into leading jobs and academic careers, removing obstacles to advancement at crucial junctures.
Our grantmaking over the years has also featured a multi-year effort to advance the literacy of Arab schoolchildren, and to improve services and access for disabled Arab citizens.
Common to all our work in Arab Community is a desire to nurture and afford exposure to success stories, and to boost Arab leadership.
Major Initiatives
Yad Hanadiv's core strategies and major areas of focus
Gap Year
The transition from adolescence and early adulthood (from school to work) is a critical time. Yad Hanadiv is pursuing a strategy that focuses on transitional programmes built around soft skill and language acquisition, leadership experience and life skills to help position young Arabs – whether headed for higher education or the workforce – to achieve success. We aim to lay the foundations for overcoming disadvantages through support for a range of quality gap year programmes tailored to specific needs of various segments of the youth population. These programmes will be operated by organisations with expertise in gap initiatives and Arab Society, in collaboration with academic institutions and philanthropic partners, and will make use of substantial government funding that favours gap year programmes for the advancement of young people.
Arab Excellence
Arab Employment
