Noha Khatieb

Noha Khatieb, an Arab educator from Israel, has long been committed to conflict resolution through cross-cultural understanding, and believes that the best place for peace to begin is in school.

As co-principal of a Hand in Hand school, Noha solved multicultural conflicts, organized community activities and led the bilingual focus and humanistic vision of the school. 

She now works for Israel’s Ministry of Education as the director of civic and multicultural education. Noha works with both Arab and Jewish schools of all levels, developing curricula that include community involvement, democratic values and shared citizenship with the “other.” 

In 2007, along with a delegation of Jewish and Arab women from Israel and participants from South Africa, Noha was invited to Northern Ireland to take part in the Vital Voices Peace and Prosperity program. While there, she met Liron Peleg-Hadomi, a Jewish social worker, with whom she became fast friends. Together, they began to navigate the roadmap others have used in the elusive search for peace.

Engaged in similar work, Liron and Noha had never met before the Peace and Prosperity program, despite their proximity to one another. Upon returning home to Israel, both women were inspired to carry on the work begun in Northern Ireland.

In 2010, Liron and Noha became the local coordinators for a new extension of the Vital Voices Peace and Prosperity program for young women within Israel. The group meets monthly to foster the next generation of peace builders in Israel.