JTA Highlights Amal Ramla’s Hard Work Building Shared Society Amid Challenge and Loss

Amal is pleased to share coverage of its work in the JTA, which today featured the Yigal Alon High School in Ramle—a school at the heart of Amal’s network and a microcosm of Israel’s complex social fabric. The article describes how, in a mixed and often challenged city, students, educators, and parents work steadily to create an inclusive and supportive learning environment for Jews, Arabs, immigrants, and those from marginalized groups. Principal Barak Friedman and staff emphasize that this is not idealized coexistence, but constant, conscious effort—especially as the community copes with trauma, instability, and socioeconomic hardship.​

During the past year, Amal’s schools have faced unprecedented losses, with dozens of alumni killed or affected by the war, and many students and staff displaced or living with trauma. In the face of adversity, Amal’s response has focused on strengthening support systems, expanding counseling, and emphasizing democratic values and citizen engagement as central to the educational mission. Administrators like Karen Tal remind us that teaching empathy, resilience, and shared responsibility is as critical as academic achievement, especially in environments where divisions can run deep.​

Featured in the article is the collaborative initiative to create a memorial gathering place for Moshael Shlomo, an Amal alumnus and IDF officer whose loss deeply affected the school and community. Fundraising for this space is ongoing, and friends of Amal worldwide are encouraged to join in making it a place of memory, healing, and unity for all students