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Buildingtrust, leadership and hope in mixed citiesand communities

Hope Initiatives provides consulting and professional guidance to municipalities and communities, connecting women, religious leaders and young people through work on the ground, facilitation, and the community infrastructure that builds trust and shared life between Jews and Arabs.

  • Goldberg Prize for Peace, 2024
  • Luxembourg Peace Prize, 2025
Ghadir Hani and Dror Rubin at a community gathering

The work in numbers

2,450+
direct participants in our programs
1,500+
participants at "Women Write Hope" events
35+
religious leaders from four faiths
80+
in-depth study tours in Lod, Acre and the Galilee

Our work

Out of the field, out of the pain and the shared life of mixed cities, grew a deep partnership that proves every day that a different future of dignity, trust and mutual responsibility is possible.

Years of working together in Lod, Acre and the Galilee taught us that trust is not built in declarations. It is built in the meeting, in the hard conversation, and in showing up again when it is difficult.

Ghadir Hani and Dror Rubin
Ghadir Hani and Dror Rubin

The pillars of our work

Five areas that work together: consulting for authorities, women's leadership, field tours, education and interfaith dialogue, and the book events.

Consulting and guidance for organizations and authorities

Strategic guidance, facilitation and the launch of dialogue initiatives for local authorities, civil society organizations, educational institutions and communities building trust and community resilience.

  • Social strategy: tailored models for managing complexity and shared life in mixed authorities and areas of friction.
  • Local leadership training: workshops and guidance for management tiers, education teams and community leaders in conflict management and trust building.
  • Community resilience in crisis and in routine: needs assessment on the ground and practical tools to prevent escalation and strengthen mutual responsibility.

Who it is for: Municipalities, regional councils, civil society organizations, community centers, management and education teams.

Book consulting
Consulting and guidance for organizations and authorities

Women's leadership in mixed cities and the south

Dialogue circles, community resilience, deep listening and the practical implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in mixed cities and the south.

  • A local leadership network: women's circles in Lod, Acre, Haifa, Nazareth and the Negev, including dedicated groups such as the "Desert Stars" women.
  • Implementing Resolution 1325: bringing women into decision-making, peacebuilding and community security, in routine and in crisis.
  • In-depth resilience workshops: building a shared language, processing difficult experiences and creating joint community projects.

Who it is for: Women leaders, social activists, residents of mixed cities, and communities in the south and the north.

Join or arrange a women's circle
Women's leadership in mixed cities and the south

In-depth study tours in the field

Experiential tours in Lod, Acre and the Galilee that open up the mosaic of shared life, the complexity of the ground and the community challenges within it.

  • Lod and Acre tours: direct encounters with residents, activists and local leaders, and the history, complexity and civic initiatives on the ground.
  • Galilee and interfaith tours: the mosaic of communities, Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Druze, and the working models for shared life.
  • Dialogue processing: every tour includes a facilitated circle for processing the experience, asking the hard questions and speaking at eye level.

Who it is for: Leadership groups, organizations, academic institutions, pre-army academies, donors and delegations from abroad.

Book a study tour
In-depth study tours in the field

Educational programs and interfaith dialogue

"Bridge Between Faiths" leadership programs and seminars at pre-army academies and youth movements.

  • "Bridge Between Faiths and Identities": mutual textual and philosophical study across Judaism, Islam, Christianity and the Druze faith, to reduce fear and dismantle racism.
  • Seminars in academies and youth movements: experiential workshops that bring teenagers and young adults face to face with the complexity of Israeli society.

Who it is for: Pre-army academies, youth movements, high school students, university students and young religious leaders.

Book a program or seminar
Educational programs and interfaith dialogue

"Women Write Hope" book events

Readings, panels and dialogue events in Jewish and Arab communities, built around 21 stories of women's leadership.

  • Panels and community events: direct encounters with the women of the book, Jewish, Arab and Bedouin women who changed a reality.
  • A series of dialogue readings: structured gatherings in Jewish communities, Arab communities and joint events, using the book's stories as the ground for deeper conversation.

Who it is for: Municipal libraries, community centers, women's circles, cultural institutions and communities across the country.

Book an event or panel
"Women Write Hope" book events

Leadership from the ground

Ghadir Hani

Ghadir Hani

Leading partner and co-director

A social activist and leader from Acre and the Negev, leading women's partnerships and intercommunity dialogue. Winner of the Goldberg Prize for Peace (2024) and the Luxembourg Peace Prize (2025).

Leading partner and co-director

Dror Rubin

Dror Rubin

Leading partner and co-director

A mediator, group facilitator and social entrepreneur. Holds an MA in mediation and conflict resolution, formerly a project manager at Search for Common Ground. Winner of the Goldberg Prize for Peace (2024) and the Luxembourg Peace Prize (2025).

Leading partner and co-director

The organizational umbrella: the "Ruach Galilit" association

The work of Hope Initiatives grows under the managerial, legal and ethical umbrella of the "Ruach Galilit" association, led by its CEO Rabbi Liora Ezrachi Vered. That strategic partnership gives every project on the ground a solid backing.

In memory of Vivian Silver and Fatan Zinati

Our work draws its inspiration from the trailblazers who believed in uncompromising partnership. The "Women Write Hope" events and the fieldwork in Lod and the Galilee are dedicated to continuing their legacy.

Read more about their lives and their legacy

Vivian Silver

Vivian was one of Israel's most prominent activists for peace, social justice and women's rights, founding movements and deep Jewish-Arab partnerships in the south. The bond between Ghadir Hani and Vivian was built over years of shared work on the ground. The "Women Write Hope" events are dedicated to carrying her path and her legacy forward.

Fatan Zinati

Fatan was a trailblazing woman leader in Lod who ran the city's Arab-Jewish community center and devoted her life to building bridges, community resilience and trust between residents. Dror Rubin's deep work alongside Fatan in Lod laid the foundation for a model of local women's leadership, courage and human solidarity in mixed cities.

Get in touch to book a program or explore a partnership

Tell us about your organization, community or authority and we will come back with a tailored proposal.

All activity, receipts and payment processing are carried out under the legal and organizational umbrella of the "Ruach Galilit" association (registered non-profit).