Building a Different Reality: Young Arab Leaders Learning to Resolve Conflict

In Kfar HaHoresh Forest in the Lower Galilee, 800 Arab teenagers gathered for five days of learning, leadership and community. Ninth- and tenth-graders from more than 40 local branches of the HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed youth movement (NOAL) took part, alongside approximately 200 counselors, coordinators and staff members. They came from Arab communities across the country, from the Negev to the north.

But this year's Teen Leadership Institute had a particular focus, giving young Arab leaders practical tools to manage conflict and help prevent violence in their communities.

Participants at the Teen Leadership Institute

Growing up surrounded by violence

The teenagers attending the seminar are growing up against the backdrop of a serious and growing crisis of crime and violence in Arab society in Israel.

In 2025, 252 Arab citizens were killed in incidents of crime and violence, making it the deadliest year on record, according to the Abraham Initiatives. This followed 230 deaths in 2024 and 244 in 2023.

For many young people, this is not simply a statistic. Violence can be something they hear about in their communities, encounter in their daily lives or experience through their families. Some participants have lost people close to them.

Tal Tunik, one of NOAL's leaders, makes an important distinction: “The issue is not that violence is part of Arab culture. Rather, young people are increasingly surrounded by violence, and it can begin to influence the culture around them.”

The challenge is therefore not only to tell young people that violence is wrong. It is to give them practical alternatives for what they can do when conflict begins.

Arij Abu Kashef, coordinator of NOAL's Southern District.

Learning the language of Sulha

This summer, NOAL, Dror Israel's associated youth movement, launched a pilot programme training young Arab leaders as Sulha instructors.

Sulha is a traditional Arab and Muslim approach to resolving disputes through mediation, dialogue and reconciliation. Rather than focusing only on who is to blame, it places importance on repairing relationships and restoring peace.

The programme was designed specifically for the realities young people are facing in Arab communities in Israel. It combines the cultural tradition of Sulha with modern tools for conflict resolution, including mediation, nonviolent communication, emotional regulation and understanding the emotions and needs beneath a conflict.

Sulha instructor training

Participants practise how to slow down a tense situation, manage their own reactions, de-escalate disagreements and help people communicate before a conflict becomes something more serious.

The approach is intentionally rooted in cultural norms that are familiar to the participants. Rather than importing a generic model of conflict resolution, the programme takes concepts from Arab and Muslim traditions and connects them with contemporary educational approaches.

Dr. Yasser Al-Amour, who helped develop the programme, describes the goal as giving young people a “language of dialogue, thinking and nonviolent communication.”

The programme also recognises that the traditional institution of Sulha has faced challenges, including cases where families involved in criminal activity have become part of the process. The pilot therefore looks at the values behind Sulha and asks how young people themselves can use them to manage everyday conflicts before they escalate.

From young leaders to community change

The young leaders will take these skills back to their local branches, schools and communities, where they can use them with younger participants and their peers.

Lina Abu Lil (right) and Noor Jabara, training coordinators for the Teen Leadership Institute.

A disagreement between two children, a rumour spreading through a school or an argument between friends may seem small. But learning how to intervene early, communicate and take responsibility can prevent conflict from becoming something more serious.

This is where the Teen Leadership Institute comes in.

NOAL is one of Israel's largest and most diverse youth movements, bringing together young people from Jewish, Arab and Druze communities across the country. Its Arab branches operate in communities across Israel, providing thousands of young people with educational activities, leadership opportunities and volunteering.

The five-day institute prepares ninth- and tenth-graders to become junior counselors in the coming school year. They learn how to lead groups, take responsibility and support younger children.

Now, some of those young leaders are also learning how to help those children navigate conflict.

Continuing to lead during uncertainty

The seminar took place during another period of uncertainty for Israel. The participants are living not only with violence and crime in their own communities, but also with the wider uncertainty of war and the possibility of further Iranian attacks.

The team organising the institute prepared for the possibility of escalation and evacuation according to the official instructions. But they were thankfully able to run the programme without disruption.

Arij Abu Kashaf, who coordinates NOAL's southern district and is responsible for around 200 participants and staff from the Negev, describes the atmosphere as one of uncertainty. For her, continuing the work is itself an important response.“Being here, continuing to work and educate, is what gives us strength.”

A youth counselor helping bring participants from different communities together.

The impact begins when they go home

The value of the programme is not only what happens during five days in the forest. It is what happens when these teenagers go home.

They return to their local branches as youth counselors, responsible for younger children. They bring with them new skills for leadership, communication and conflict resolution, and the opportunity to pass those skills on.

Ahmed Samnia, Director of the Community Center in Sheikh Danun, describes this wider impact simply. “The fight against crime begins long before the crime itself happens.”

In a reality marked by violence, war and uncertainty, these teenagers are learning how to listen, resolve conflict, take responsibility and support younger children.

The seminar is much bigger than five days in the forest. It is an investment that can change Israeli society for the better.