Kol Israel Haverim Alliance

Kol Israel Haverim-Alliance (KIAH) is a leading educational organization in Israel, founded 160 years ago in France. Establishing 280 modern Jewish schools in Muslim countries, teacher training institutions and rabbinical seminaries, KIAH was an agent of tremendous changes in the Jewish world. Due to its commitment to the wellbeing of the Jewish people and support of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, KIAH promotes educational excellence and local leadership in the country’s periphery, cultivates a unifying Israeli Judaism, and creates connections to the Sephardic Tradition and to French Jewry. Guided by a comprehensive philosophy that links educational achievements with identity processes, KIAH initiates intervention and empowerment programs in schools and in the community, and trains educational professionals and local leaders as a means to achieve a sustainable social-educational change. KIAH works to bring to the foreground a diverse, inclusive and unifying Jewish tradition.KIAH is headed by lay leaders from Israel and France, led by Mr. Sam Pinto. KIAH is supported by philanthropists, Jewish federations and foundations from Israel and overseas, and works in partnership with State bodies – government ministries, institutions and local authorities; school networks and non-profit organizations; educational departments, school principals and educational teams throughout the country. KIAH impacts on 32,000 students, 4,200 teachers, 125 schools, in 70 local municipalities.