The Branch

Can the arts help heal Jerusalem? Two of the women behind Mekudeshet think so. Through concerts and performing arts events, they're creating spaces where Jews and Palestinians can feel at home, finding culture and new connections.

Singers in the Rana Choir of Jaffa are Jewish, Christian and Muslim, from different educational and socioeconomic backgrounds and different political outlooks. Note by note and song by song, the choir proves that different voices and views can still join together in harmony.

Palestinian physiotherapist Rasha Ghaith has a seemingly bottomless bag of tricks. Blending Arabic and Hebrew, knowledge and warmth, she helps her Jewish and Arab patients at Hadassah Hospital Mount Scopus move forward -- one step at a time.

Israeli author Yossi Klein Halevi and Mohammad Darawshe, a founder of the Arab Israeli Ma'an party, are longtime friends. As intellectuals, they've both been shaped by their many conversations -- and occasional disagreements -- about the country they both call home.

Through cross-cultural dialogue and a personal friendship, powerhouse duo Ola Najmi-Yousef and Ruth Lewin-Chen are empowering local Arab leaders, working with officials, and building trust to make Arab neighborhoods safer. "If we fight together, we can succeed."

As part of their peace-building work, two facilitators are bringing Arab and Jewish teens together to find common ground. And now, they're doing it online.

For three years, Yael has been driving Mohammed and his son, Dia -- who live in Hebron -- to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem for the 5-year-old's cancer treatments. Over many rides, arranged by Humans without Borders, the two have formed a "very human connection."

A Jordanian, a Palestinian and an Israeli have joined forces in the fight to save their shared environment. As the board of directors for EcoPeace Middle East, they're not willing to let pushback, regional conflict and politics stand in their way. 

At the height of the violence of the Second Intifada, artists Faten Elwi, an Arab Israeli, and Hadass Gertman, a Jewish Israeli, began collaborating on art exhibits. Nearly two decades later, their friendship and powerful new exhibit are bringing Jews and Arabs together in the historically conflict-ridden city of Umm al-Fahm.

Soccer team captain Ali Ottman, an Arab Israeli, and Harel Selah, his Jewish coach, work side by side on the Sakhnin team in the Galilee, proving that sometimes coexistence is as simple as a shared goal.

Amid the second wave of the COVID-19 crisis in Israel, midwives Gila Zarbiv, a Jewish Israeli, and Rahel Najwan Rasslan, an Arab Israeli, at Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem work side by side to calm mothers bringing new life into an uncertain world.

As the Israeli economy reopens, uncertainty continues. Host Dina Kraft takes us back into the lives of Jews and Arabs we met in earlier episodes to see how they're faring, and what's changed about the efforts that brought them together: a theater, Hadassah Hospital, the fight against domestic violence and more. 

From each side of the Israel-Gaza border, two peace advocates – Rami and Roni -- organize via Skype and WhatsApp, convinced that people-to-people ties can help break the deadlock of decades of cross-border fighting.

Yuval Ben-Ami and Husam Jubran take tourists on journeys through Israel, helping them to navigate Jewish and Palestinian perspectives about the conflict.

Tsofen, founded by Sami Saadi and Smadar Nehab, is an Arab-Jewish initiative that has cracked the code for integrating Arab Israelis into Israel's booming hi-tech industry.

When Neta Weiner, known as The Prophet for his dynamic on-stage presence, met Mohammad Aguani at an open poetry mic night, he was spellbound. Together, the activist-rappers founded System Ali, a hip-hop group that tackles social justice issues, now a central part of Jaffa's diverse music scene.

Talia dances, loves drawing, and traces her Muslim ancestry back to Jerusalem's Old City. Shali is the wise-cracking son of an Israeli rapper. The teens met by joining Israel's only youth movement for peace. Listen as they teach us what it means to be Kids4Peace in 2019.

When it comes to sexual abuse and assault, Dr. Dvora Bauman and Dr. Moshira Aboo Dia share the same goal: to return control to the victim. Despite their political differences, two doctors have forged a strong bond as they work together to empower women at Hadassah Hospital's Bat Ami Center for Victims of Sexual Abuse.

Danny Hakim and Hazam Abu Qwedar are longtime friends and martial arts instructors. Through the art of karate, they're showing kids in Israel -- Jewish and Bedouin -- a new approach to coexistence.

Two journalists forged a 30-year friendship out of covering conflict, and today their families' lives are intertwined. Jonathan is a Jewish New Yorker who moved to Israel. Saud is a Gaza City native. This is their story.

Mahdi and Michal are the forces behind ShakShuk, a small restaurant nestled in Jerusalem's bustling Machane Yehuda market. Both native Jerusalemites, this Jewish-Muslim duo work long hours side by side. They're like brother and sister - and they're learning how to have difficult political conversations. For more info, visit us at: hadassah.org/thebranch.

Robi Damelin, an Israeli mother, and Bassam Arami, a Palestinian father, each lost a child to the violence. Despite having every reason to be divided by grief, they're working together to show how important one-on-one reconciliation can be on the path to peace - using their friendship as a model.

Israelis Hamutal and Samah -- one Jewish, the other Arab -- are feminist activists from communities that don't always see eye to eye. Through their friendship, they embody the power of showing up despite having conflicting identities. The result? A feminist coalition combating domestic violence.

At Meir Shfeya, the Hadassah-supported youth village, Arab Israeli 24-year-old Kassem takes on the role of mentor and confidante to three Jewish teens. Hear their stories and learn about the open dialogue - and farm work - that bring them together.

This month, we travel to Juha's Guesthouse in the Israeli Arab fishing village of Jisr az Zarka. Discretely nestled between Caesarea and Haifa, the small guesthouse is bringing new life and opportunities to this usually forgotten dot on Israel's map.

In the dialysis unit at Hadassah Hospital's Ein Kerem campus, the nurses and patients are like a family. Host Dina Kraft asks, "How do we take this island of peace and connect it to the main land?"

Meet Adam Ziv and Alaa Sweitat, the owners of Buza, Arabic for ice cream. This Jewish-Arab team have not only found meaningful friendship through their business, they've created "a corner of delicious sanity."

A look inside life at the only school in Jerusalem where Jewish and Arab students learn together, and about each other, in Hebrew and Arabic. The Hand in Hand school sets out a new model for education children. Here, they aren't just classmates – they're friends. For more about The Branch, head over to Hadassah.org/thebranch. Feel free to drop us an email at thebranch@hadassah.org Want more Hadassah podcasts? Check out Hadassah On Call: New Frontiers in Medicine, which takes listeners behind the headlines with Hadassah Medical Organization doctors and specialists, patients and nurses. Listen and be amazed. Explore more perspectives on Israel with Hadassah's Defining Zionism in the 21st Century video series.

For our first episode of The Branch, we begin our journey in the Jaffa Theatre, meeting actors and musicians from different backgrounds, brought together by the music of famed musician Farid Al-Atrash. For more about The Branch, head over to Hadassah.org/thebranch. Feel free to drop us an email at thebranch@hadassah.org Want more Hadassah podcasts? Check out Hadassah On Call: New Frontiers in Medicine, which takes listeners behind the headlines with Hadassah Medical Organization doctors and specialists, patients and nurses. Listen and be amazed. Explore more perspectives on Israel with Hadassah's Defining Zionism in the 21st Century video series.