ByELANA SZTOKMAN/JTA

JUNE 2, 2026 05:20

The entrance area at Amal high school in Yanuh Jat village features stone terraces, paths edged with flowers, and circular wooden seating that resembles a peaceful getaway rather than a standard campus. Within the spacious lobby, signs display quotes in Hebrew, Arabic, and English from notable individuals such as John F. Kennedy and Steve Martin.

This institution educates teens from communities near the northern frontier, and its welcoming design stems from intention. The layout promotes calm, elegance, and regard, embodying the approach of headmaster Wageeh Barakat, who assumed leadership several years ago following the passing of the prior longtime director, Majed Bissan.

“Students should sense they belong here like family,” Barakat noted.

Yanuh Jat high school belongs to a group of Druze-focused campuses operated by Amal, an educational organization with 50 sites that include trade programs for underserved groups and advanced science facilities in major cities plus outlying areas. The Druze campuses, serving an Arabic-speaking minority of roughly 150,000 citizens, follow a twofold goal: bolstering Druze heritage while readying learners for complete involvement in Israel's varied, open society.

Israel's Druze population resides mainly in northern regions and upholds distinct customs along with its own leaders. The group is also recognized for steadfast support of the nation and elevated levels of enlistment in the Israel Defense Forces.

The recent period of conflict has highlighted connections between Druze residents and nearby Jewish populations. Two high-ranking Druze IDF commanders from Yanuh Jat, both former pupils, lost their lives during operations in Gaza after the October 7, 2023 attack, while projectiles and incursions from Lebanon have often interrupted routines in western Galilee Druze areas.

Conflict shapes everyday life beyond headlines

Within Amal institutions in the area, conflict influences more than reports; it molds how pupils perceive belonging, roots, and prospects.

Amal campuses engage Israel's minority populations, such as Bedouin and Christian groups, to explore and affirm their roles as both distinct cultural members and Israeli citizens.

At the Druze campuses, instructors cover community history, customs, and principles together with general civic education. By guiding Druze learners through their background, they help them appreciate democracy in a pluralistic setting through equal entitlements, reciprocal acknowledgment, and joint duties among varied groups.

This blend of state allegiance and separate group identity means sustained collaborations with Jewish campuses in networks like Amal require effort; they develop through careful, considerate interactions that exemplify the democratic ideals the initiative promotes.

Campus serves as local center and secure haven

The Yanuh Jat high school acts as both an academic site and a local gathering point plus secure environment. Available every day, it offers sessions and talks that build connections among families, staff, and youth, plus casual meetings in Barakat's welcoming office.

Barakat speaks proudly of correspondence from an Eilat hotel manager commending his pupils' thoughtful conduct during a trip. Such instances hold equal weight to academic results for him, as they show the principles he hopes students will carry into broader Israeli life.

One part of this vision at Yanuh Jat is the Library for Democracy. Backed by the Dan David Foundation, Amal is updating its sizable library into a contemporary, versatile study space stocked with materials on democracy, rights, and citizenship.

The updated facility will feature computer areas, quiet reading spots, and venues for community programs and cross-generational activities, drawing from worldwide models that convert libraries into civic hubs. Barakat views it as a benefit for his 650 pupils and the entire village, focused on enhancing endurance and democratic principles in a region affected by conflict.

Barakat, raised in Yanuh Jat, also invests effort in forging links with Jewish groups. Last November, the school welcomed Jewish pupils from an Amal campus in nearby Amka to a farm used as an extension of the Yanuh Jat grounds.

“I strongly support coexistence, collaboration, and understanding others,” Barakat said. “Greater familiarity with the other side creates genuine space to draw nearer and share life in this land.”

In hillside plots, pupils joined efforts with medicinal herbs tied to Druze traditions, practiced ancient olive oil extraction methods, and ran farm trials. They enjoyed Druze flatbread, labneh, and fresh cucumbers, converting an ordinary day into shared living lessons.

Educational coordinator Madlen Bibar called the event a sign of “shared origins.” The session aims to inspire similar gatherings at other Amal sites.

Regional Amal director Shiri Eshed Yehoshua supports these initiatives by strengthening connections between field schools and central leadership while launching joint programs across Amal to reinforce network belonging and commitment to a shared society.

For Eshed, this involves frequent travel throughout the Galilee to assist teachers in applying Amal's democratic principles in daily routines.

“Identity and culture work forms a core part of Amal efforts,” she said. “It marks the start of enduring, substantive alliances rather than isolated coexistence events.”

Amal educators join this effort too. Teachers from northern Galilee campuses take part in the Democracy Community program, convening biweekly to examine civic identity and create classroom resources for handling complex subjects.

While Yanuh Jat shows a school as a community pillar, the Amal Multidisciplinary High School in Kisra Samia demonstrates how one institution can anchor two adjacent locales. Under principal Nazir Rabah, a respected educator and longtime Amal figure, the school unites students from Kisra and Samia villages for learning, service, and celebrations, exemplifying respectful coexistence often missing in public spheres.

Nearly 1,000 pupils attend, mostly Druze with some Christian and Muslim attendees. “An institution must expand chances and reinforce identity,” Rabah said. “A learner aware of their background can meet the world confidently.”

Over time, Kisra Samia, offering tracks in medical science, software engineering, business administration, and rescue studies plus standard academics, has earned acclaim for scholastic achievement, creativity, and community leadership. It often collaborates with local Jewish schools and draws international visitors, including American Jewish groups, interested in how public schools blend strong identity formation with advanced STEM and vocational training.

The school participates in an Amal-led project with the Accord Center at Hebrew University that gathers educators from select campuses to examine personal, social, national, and global identities as a means to bridge divides in Israel's pluralistic society.

“As a varied network reflecting Israeli society, we view it as our duty to deliver top education to every Amal student, regardless of unequal starting points,” said Tamar Peled Amir, Amal’s vice director general for education, research, and technology. “Equality, human dignity, liberty, and social justice are not mere phrases here. They involve providing each learner the strongest foundation for their next life stage.”

In Yanuh Jat and Kisra Samia, that foundation takes shape daily in classes, corridors, and yards where Druze teens navigate questions of belief, citizenship, and prospects in a nation emerging from intense conflict. For Amal, support for these schools represents investment in a unified Israeli society where a small, proud minority sustains its heritage while contributing fully to the national narrative.