American Friends of Neve Shalom-Wahat Al-Salam, Inc.
Because you Believe in Peace!
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
AFNSWAS is committed to cost-effective practices and transparency. For more than 35 years, AFNSWAS has depended on outreach through mail, public presentations and reports to educate the public about our mission. The mission of AFNSWAS –to support the work of the Primary School, the School for Peace and the Pluralistic Spiritual Center in strengthening a shared society between Israeli Palestinians and Jews through education, engagement and activism – thereby reducing and transforming conflict, begins with outreach and education, but may also include requests for contributions to support that mission. As a result, and in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidelines, we allocate a portion of our outreach costs to program services and to fundraising. We are committed to ensuring our donor's money is spent as effectively and transparently as possible.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
School for Peace
Established in 1979, the School for Peace is an integral part of the Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam's mission to build relationships between Palestinians and Jews through communication and respect. The School for Peace brings together Palestinian and Israeli, youth and adults, with diverse and often diametrically opposed ideological backgrounds for youth encounter workshops, women courses, teacher trainings, and facilitator trainings.
Primary School
NSWAS' primary school was the first bilingual and
bicultural school in Israel and has been the model for the few others that
exist now. Children are taught both in Hebrew and Arabic, learning about the
two cultures and celebrating each other's traditions. Approximately 250
children come from the village and its surrounding area everyday to attend the
school.
Pluralistic Spiritual Center
"Doumia-Sakinah," or the Pluralistic
Spiritual Center, provides a framework for spiritual reflection on issues at
the core of the Middle East conflict and the search for its resolution. Its
programs focus on open, inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue, and the
advancement of peace.
Youth Leadership Training Program
The Young Leadership Training
Program (YLTP) creates a cohesive group of young leaders, able to
facilitate groups in binational/bilingual contexts; and creates the context for
social initiatives benefiting the Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam’s community as
well as the new communities they evolve in.
During this program, 15 to 20
high school students are trained to take leadership roles in their communities (at home and
at school in particular), as well as to run community service initiatives that
advance the community’s overall mission of creating a more egalitarian and just
society.
The Oasis Art Gallery
The Oasis Art Gallery at NSWAS opened in 2015 and is, in this remarkable community that touches thousands of children and adults annually, the center that provides opportunities for expressive, non-verbal learning, teaching and action. The Oasis Art Gallery holds exhibitions offering viewers windows into compassion and social justice; artist working-sessions open to the public and public lectures/ discussions with historians and researchers providing additional lenses on context and connections. Through sculpture, painting, photography, collage, the artists connect the viewers with experiences universal and particular.
Where we work
Affiliations & memberships
School for Peace wins the Goldberg Prize 2018
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
American Friends of Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that supports Jewish and Palestinian bilingual, bicultural and, where relevant, cross-border binational experiential, education from nursery through adulthood to build a genuine and sustainable peace between Arabs and Jews, Palestinians and Israelis.
Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam is a 45 year-old bilingual, bicultural community of Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel who have chosen to live, work, celebrate and educate children together as equals.
Support for the educational projects of Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam (NSWAS) begins with developing awareness through publications, public presentations, press releases, and publicity through social media. This is followed by strategies for building fiscal support, and then creating opportunities that bring members of NSWAS and North American citizens together to build relationships across culture, language and political divides.
With 40 years of experience and a growing global community, the educational institutions of NSWAS create and sustain engaged, problem-solving dialogue on social, cultural, and political issues, developing opportunities for local and regional problem-specific projects. Palestinian and Jewish participants listen and learn, promoting trust, understanding, and mutual respect as the foundation for every action-oriented program.
The NSWAS educational institutions like the bilingual/binational/multicultural Primary School, the School for Peace for high school through adult years, the all-ages Pluralistic Spiritual Community Center, the middle-school through teenage years Nadi Youth Center, all serve the village of NSWAS, the many regional municipalities, the mixed cities, the universities and teacher-training institutions, reaching thousands of Jewish and Palestinian youth and adults each year, and tens of thousands in total.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Newsletters, program-specific brochures, and updates are provided quarterly to the full list via postal mailing and social media. These include information about the conflict, specific information about the programs of NSWAS that address the conflict, along with requests to support these programs.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
*Communicated more effectively in print and electronic media, through targeted press releases and 'e blasts', describing the impact of individuals from the Oasis of Peace as well as the accomplishments of the educational projects of the village.
Focused fundraising on current or planned-for NSWAS programmatic innovations.
*Increased our Facebook presence and following through the use of targeted stories and ads.
*Redesigned our website, making often-requested information more easily accessible.
*Coordinated articles, announcements, and requests in print and email newsletters and our fundraising materials to make our outreach more consistent
A Planned Giving strategy has been developed to enable donors to support Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam's needs into the future.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Awards: The Village has won many international awards (list available on the website) and has been nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize.
We, here in the United States, can do our part by making their work possible, and by offering what support we can so that the schools, programs and projects of Neve Shalom/ Wahat al-Salam can grow in response to the need.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
American Friends of Neve Shalom-Wahat Al-Salam, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 02/06/2024
Joan Waller
American Friends of Neve Shalom/Wahat al Salam
Term: 2021 - 2024
Deborah First
American Friends of Neve Shalom/Wahat al Salam
Term: 2022 - 2025
Ted First
American Friends of Neve Shalom/Wahat al Salam
Judith Tuller
Smith Barney
Susan Lurie
American Friends of Neve Shalom/Wahat al Salam
Herb Adelman
American Friends of Neve Shalom/Wahat al Salam
Barbara Ridberg
American Friends of Neve Shalom/Wahat al Salam
Robert Green
American Friends of NSWAS
Judith Dubin
American Friends of NSWAS
Ashraf Hussein
American Friends of Neve Shalom/Wahat al Salam
Thair AbuRass
Board of directors
Neil Comess Daniel
American Friends of Neve Shalom/Wahat al Salam
Gordon Webster
American Friends of Neve Shalom/Wahat al Salam
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
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Disability
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