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This mixed Jewish-Arab school in Ramle seeks to model a blueprint for Israel’s future
RAMLE, Israel — In the heart of the central Israeli city of Ramle, where Jews and Arabs live side by side, the Yigal Alon Multidisciplinary High School is trying to spearhead a quiet revolution.
The student body reflects the full tapestry of Israeli society, with students who are Jewish, Muslim, and Christian, religious and secular, native-born and immigrant. The school has a particularly large Ethiopian-Israeli population, and students with special needs. In Israel, such diversity is often treated as a problem to be managed. At Yigal Alon, it is treated as an opportunity, one that was especially important during Israel’s two-year war.
When 32-year-old alumnus Moshael Shlomo, a commander in the IDF’s Yamam counterterrorism unit, was killed on October 7, 2023, his death reverberated through the school community. Shlomo, who grew up in a socioeconomically disadvantaged home in Ramle, attended Yigal Alon from 2006 to 2009, and was known for his charisma, athleticism and drive to help others. He served as a paratrooper, then rose to become an IDF team commander and demolitions expert in Yamam.
After Shlomo’s death in combat with Hamas attackers near Kibbutz Be’eri, Yigal Alon students worked with school staff and Shlomo’s family to begin transforming a neglected plot on the school campus into a lawn — the first stage of a memorial project that eventually will include a sports field, outdoor seating and garden of peace. The project seeks to honor Shlomo’s memory by creating a space that reflects his passion for athletics and community, and the area will serve as an after-school haven for teenagers who by and large can’t afford the kind of extra-curricular activities their peers do. Administrators hope teens using it will build stronger peer relationships and practice the values Shlomo embodied, including generosity and service to community and country.
“It isn’t just about Shlomo’s athleticism,” said sports teacher Dotan Rotshtein, who is spearheading the project. “It’s about his character of determination and kindness. This project will educate students in his spirit.”
The project at Yigal Alon is one example of the many ways Israelis are memorializing those killed during the war, trying to make something positive out of the pain, hardship and loss they endured during the longest conflict in Israel’s history. Rather than serving as a flashpoint, Shlomo’s death became a unifying experience for Yigal Alon, bringing Arab and Jewish students together in determination to build something positive.
The school, one of 50 in the Amal educational network, offers a rare and tangible model for how to bolster Arab-Jewish coexistence and build a society rooted in shared humanity, administrators said.
“This school is a home not just for students, but for families,” said principal Barak Friedman, himself a school alumnus and Ramle native. “Everyone belongs. Everyone matters.”
In Israel, only eight out of 250 municipalities are considered mixed Jewish-Arab. Almost all public schools are segregated along ethnic and religious lines. Yigal Alon is one of Israel’s very few mixed Arab-Jewish public schools.
“Once people saw this as a liability,” Friedman said. “I see it as a wonderful opportunity.”
“At a time of growing extremism in Israeli society, the connections between these youths is quite unique and inspiring,” said Barak Friedman, principal of the Yigal Alon school in Ramle, Israel. (Courtesy of Amal)
Staff at the school try to weave the values of shared humanity into academic life. During the war, students met weekly in conversation circles where Jewish and Arab classmates spoke openly about how the conflict was affecting their families. They worked together on projects like murals and performances to express their emotions.
Older students tutor younger ones, often across language and cultural lines, and 11th graders complete community service work in both Jewish and Arab institutions. The school also has a large group of Shinshinim — Israeli volunteers from pre-military academies who work alongside teachers to help give students one-on-one attention and assist those with learning disabilities.
Jewish and Arab students and teachers work side by side.
“Students aren’t interested in the ethnic background or origin stories of fellow students; what matters to them is their relationships with each other,” Friedman said. “At a time of growing extremism in Israeli society, the connections between these youths is quite unique and inspiring.”
These connections flourished even during the war.
Within the Amal network — whose diverse portfolio of schools ranges from vocational schools that serve traditionally marginalized Israeli populations including immigrants, Arabs, and haredim to science & technology schools in Israel’s biggest cities — 45 alumni were killed in the war, many of them siblings or cousins of current students. Schools were struck by missiles, relocated due to being in conflict zones or absorbed evacuees. Some students had relatives taken hostage to Gaza, and many had parents or siblings in combat. Everyone was affected.
“The loss is not only in the fallen,” said Asher Ben Shoshan, Amal’s head of human resources. “Many of our students and staff were living with traumas.”
Amal’s schools responded by expanding trauma-related programming, offering counseling, and creating spaces for students to process emotions through dialogue and creativity.
“We’re not just teaching algebra or English,” Ben Shoshan said. “We’re helping young people hold their lives together. That is the mission now.”
Traditionally a network of vocational schools, Amal has focused in recent years on turning its schools into centers of science and technology while also trying to heal Israel’s societal rifts and strengthen democratic values among its more than 3,000 teachers and 26,000 students.
“We believe that education is not just about knowledge but about citizenship,” said Tamar Peled Amir, Amal’s deputy director general for education, technology and R&D. “Our classrooms are where the future of Israel is being written — not just with math equations or essays, but with empathy, resilience and an unwavering commitment to building a shared society.”
The killing of Yigal Alon alumnus Moshael Shlomo on Oct. 7, 2023, galvanized the school community to come together and build something to honor the memory of the slain IDF commander. (Courtesy of Amal)
Karen Tal, Amal’s director general, said focusing on Israeli society is part of the schools’ educational responsibility.
“We don’t have the luxury of detachment,” Tal said. “Our responsibility is not only academic. It is human. Shared society is not a slogan. It is the essence of democracy. When students learn to listen to one another, to respect differences and to see the humanity in the other, they are learning what it means to live in a democratic society. That is the Israel we are working to build, one classroom at a time.”
Arab students in Rotshtein’s after-school fitness club now wear team shirts bearing Shlomo’s name. “They want to feel part of this country, part of his legacy,” Rotshtein said.
“The space we decided to build in Moshael’s honor reflects who he was: generous, kind, committed to others,” Rotshtein said. “It is also a project that brings people together, Jews and Arabs, in a spirit of unity.”
Friedman, the principal, said, “Whether you are Jewish or Arab, religious or secular, we teach our students to take responsibility for themselves, for each other and for society. Because only that kind of responsibility will allow Israel to heal.”
It’s an ethos Friedman himself embodies: As part of his military reserve duty, he’s a “notifier” —part of the three-person crew that visits parents’ homes when a soldier is killed to inform them of the terrible news. The experience has shaped his worldview, and the school’s focus on service to community.
Much of the implementation for school-specific initiatives like the Shlomo memorial project relies on community partnerships and philanthropy.
“We are reaching out to the global Jewish community and to friends of Israeli democracy everywhere,” said Yael Nathanel, Amal’s resource development director. “Projects like this do not just build walls and gardens. They build empathy, resilience and vision. But we need help to ensure that this becomes a reality.”
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AUDIO: What does the Sydney attack mean for Jews in Australia?
ס׳איז לעצטנס אַרויסגעלאָזט געוואָרן אַ ראַדיאָ־אינטערוויו אויף ייִדיש וועגן דער שחיטה פֿון ייִדן דעם 14טן דעצעמבער, בעת אַ חנוכּה־פֿײַערונג אין באָנדי־ביטש, אויסטראַליע.
פֿופֿצן מענטשן זענען דערהרגעט געוואָרן אין דעם טעראָריסטישן אַטאַק, אַרײַנגערעכנט אַ 37־יאָריקן רבֿ און טאַטע פֿון פֿיר קינדער, ר׳ יעקבֿ לעוויטאַן, און אַ 10־יאָריק מיידעלע.
דעם שמועס, פּראָדוצירט פֿון דער באָסטאָנער ראַדיאָ־פּראָגראַם „דאָס ייִדישע קול“, האָט דער דיקטאָר פֿון דער פּראָגראַם, מאיר דוד, געפֿירט מיטן מעלבורנער ייִדישיסט אַלעקס דאַפֿנער.
דאַפֿנער, אַ ייִדישע ראַדיאָ־פּערזענלעכקייט אין מעלבורן, אַנאַליזירט עטלעכע מעגלעכע סיבות וואָס האָבן מסתּמא אומדירעקט דערפֿירט צו דעם טעראָריסטישן אַטאַק. ער באַשרײַבט אויך די פּאָליטישע שטימונג אין לאַנד לגבי ישׂראל און דעם הײַנטיקן זיכערהייט־מצבֿ פֿאַר די אָרטיקע ייִדן.
The post AUDIO: What does the Sydney attack mean for Jews in Australia? appeared first on The Forward.
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US Education Department’s New Database Reveals Qatar Ranks as Top Foreign Funder of American Universities
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani speaks on the first day of the 23rd edition of the annual Doha Forum, in Doha, Qatar, Dec. 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
Qatar is the single largest foreign source of funding to American colleges and universities, according to a newly launched public database from the US Department of Education that reveals the scope of overseas influence in US higher education.
The federal dashboard shows Qatar has provided $6.6 billion in gifts and contracts to US universities, more than any other foreign government or entity, outpacing the next highest contributions from Germany ($4.4 billion), England ($4.3 billion), China ($4.1 billion), Canada ($4 billion), and Saudi Arabia ($3.9 billion).
Of the schools that received money from Qatar, Cornell University topped the list with $2.3 billion, followed by Carnegie Mellon University ($1 billion), Texas A&M University ($992.8 million), and Georgetown University ($971.1 million).
The newly publicized figures come as universities nationwide face heightened scrutiny over campus antisemitism, anti-Israel activism, and academic priorities, prompting renewed concerns about foreign influence on American campuses.
US Education Secretary Linda McMahon unveiled the Foreign Gift and Contract transparency portal this week, saying the tool gives taxpayers, lawmakers, and students a clearer view of how billions of dollars from abroad flow into US universities. Under Section 117 of the Higher Education Act, federally funded institutions are legally required to disclose gifts and contracts from foreign sources worth $250,000 or more annually.
“America’s taxpayer funded colleges and universities have both a moral and legal obligation to be fully transparent with the US government and the American people about their foreign financial relationships,” McMahon said in a December statement announcing the formation of the database.
Supporters of the initiative argue the disclosures confirm longstanding concerns that potentially nefarious foreign financial ties may shape academic discourse, research priorities, and campus culture. Those concerns have intensified in the wake of controversies at elite universities over their handling of antisemitism and anti-Israel demonstrations amid the war in Gaza.
The presence of American universities in Qatar has long been controversial, with critics pointing out that the Qatari government has helped fund the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. Qatar also hosts several high-ranking Hamas leaders, who often live in luxury outside of Gaza. Some observers argue that the Islamic country curtails academic freedom of American universities.
While universities say the funds support scholarships, research partnerships, and international programs, many critics point to Qatar’s geopolitical record and its ties to Hamas as reason for increased skepticism.
Last month, the Middle East Forum published a report showing the children of the Qatari aristocracy are vastly overrepresented at the Northwestern University campus in Qatar, a fact that, according to the US-based think tank, undermines the school’s mission to foster academic excellence by acting in practice as a “pipeline” for the next generation of a foreign monarchy’s leadership class.
The Middle East Forum released a separate report in May exposing the extent of Qatar’s far-reaching financial entanglements within American institutions, shedding light on what experts described as a coordinated effort to influence US policy making and public opinion in Doha’s favor. The findings showed that Qatar has attempted to expand its soft power in the US by spending $33.4 billion on business and real estate projects, over $6 billion on universities, and $72 million on American lobbyists since 2012.
This effort has focused heavily on higher education.
Beyond the Education Department’s database, a recent report by the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP), for example, found that Qatar has funneled roughly $20 billion into American schools and universities over five decades as part of a coordinated, 100-year project to embed Muslim Brotherhood ideologies in the US.
The 200-page report, unveiled in Washington, DC to members of Congress, chronicled a 50-year effort by Muslim Brotherhood-linked groups to embed themselves in American academia, civil society, and government agencies, exposing what ISGAP called the Brotherhood’s “civilization jihad” strategy, while maintaining an agenda fundamentally at odds with liberal democratic values.
Activists and US lawmakers say the scale of Qatari funding raises legitimate questions about whether foreign donors are influencing Middle East studies programs, faculty hiring, and student activism, even if indirectly.
The new database builds upon a broader effort by the Trump administration to rein in antagonistic foreign influence on American universities.
“Protecting American educational, cultural, and national security interests requires transparency regarding foreign funds flowing to American higher education and research institutions,” US President Donald Trump said in April.
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Candace Owens Posts Kanye West’s Notorious ‘Death Con 3 on Jewish People’ Tweet, Calls It a ‘Vibe’
Right-wing political commentator Candace Owens speaks during an event held by national conservative political movement ‘Turning Point’, in Detroit, Michigan, US, June 14, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Rebecca Cook
Candace Owens on Wednesday posted a screenshot of Kanye West’s notorious “Death Con 3 on Jewish People” tweet from 2022, calling it a “whole vibe.”
In October 2022, West, the rapper who now goes by Ye, posted on X, “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE. The funny thing us I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also. You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda [sic].”
There was swift backlash to the post, which was widely perceived as antisemitic. West followed up the tweet with a series of interviews in which he made antisemitic comments such as “Every human being has value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler.” West, speaking in the voice of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also said, “We have to control the history books, we have to control the banks, and we have to go and kill people.” He later released a song titled “Heil Hitler” in February 2025.
Owens, a popular far-right podcaster, re-upped the initial “death con 3” post this week, writing along with it: “Intercepted an email chain from the Daily Wire, further illuminating their deranged plot against me. After 2 years of dealing with this s–t I just want to respectfully submit that this tweet is a whole vibe. And I’m not sleepy. So I will be responding thoroughly to the DW on today’s show.”
Intercepted an email chain from the Daily Wire, further illuminating their deranged plot against me. After 2 years of dealing with this shit I just want to respectfully submit that this tweet is a whole vibe.
And I’m not sleepy. So I will be responding thoroughly to the DW on… pic.twitter.com/qkCX2p0aQ0
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) January 7, 2026
The apparent cause of the post was Owens’ escalating feud with Ben Shapiro’s Daily Wire, a conservative media company for which she used to work until she was fired last year.
Since then, Owens has intensified her rhetoric against Jews and Israel, even admitting in November that she has become “obsessed” with Jews.
In June, she suggested that then New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani was an Israeli plant, that Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel was lying about being in the Holocaust, and that Israel is the “master of the universe” that plants characters into stories so that it can control them.
In January, Owens attacked the Babylon Bee — a conservative Christian satire organization — for making a joke about her fixation on Jews.
“It’s just very obvious they are worshipping Israel,” Owens said. “That they base their jokes on people who don’t worship Israel and ‘Bibi’ Netanyahu.” She also referred to the Babylon Bee as the “Zionist Bee” and the “Babylonian Talmudic Bee.”
Last July, Owens claimed that the Star of David originated from an evil, child-sacrificing, pagan deity and has only become associated with Judaism within the past few hundred years.
In a June episode, Owens argued that “it seems like our country [the US] is being held hostage by Israel.” She lamented, “I’m going to get in so much trouble for that. I don’t care.”
In the same episode, Owens claimed US Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) was “wading into some dangerous waters” when, during an interview with host Tucker Carlson, he spoke about how effective the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is at lobbying members of Congress and suggested the group should have to register as a foreign agent that is acting on behalf of Israel.
The reason it was dangerous, Owens said, was because “we know there was once a president that wanted to make AIPAC register, and he ended up shot … so Thomas Massie better be careful.”
Owens was referencing the fact that former US President John F. Kennedy wanted the American Zionist Council, a lobby group, to register as a foreign agent.
However, there is no evidence the group had anything to do with Kennedy’s assassination.
AIPAC is a lobbying group comprised of American citizens that seeks to foster bipartisan support for the US-Israel alliance.
Weeks later, Owens promoted a series of talking points downplaying the atrocities of the Holocaust and said experiments by Nazi doctor Joseph Mengele performed on Jews during World War II sounded “like bizarre propaganda.”