Interviews with Muhammed and Itai, the newly elected heads of the student council

The student council elections were not just a popularity contest in the Wahat al-Salam/Neve Shalom primary school. The candidates take their campaigns seriously and the elections become a lesson in democracy – for winners, losers and those who put their envelopes into the ballot box alike. Muhammed and Itai, sixth-graders at the school, were elected to head the student council.

Election campaigns

Muhammed Hasnin, 11 years old and in sixth-grade, was recently elected the Arab head of the student council for the Wahat al-Salam/Neve Shalom primary school. He said: “I told my parents I wanted to sit on the class committee for my year, just to organize some nice activities during the year. And then I thought: ‘Why just my class? Maybe if I sit on the student council for the entire school, I can do more activities and really improve things.’ My friends and my parents all supported the idea. So I ran for head of the student council – which I’ll lead together with a Jewish head – and I won!”

Muhammed is active in the Nadi youth club, and he participates in soccer and drama classes after school. He lives in Wahat al-Salam, where he grew up since his parents moved there, and he has attended the primary school since first grade. He loves the village, and he loves his school friends.

His mother, Nibal, is a member of the governing board of the educational association. She is a lawyer by profession and Muhammed’s father, Walid, is a dentist. Walid says: “Muhammed is very popular in school. He really cares, and it is important to him to be involved in everything. We were a bit worried about the stress and competitiveness of the elections – a process in which there are winners and losers – but that is part of life. He learned that the election process demanded a lot of work and responsibility. Of course, we are happy for him that he won, and we wish him a lot of success in what is his last year in the school.”

Nibal: “I am so proud of the school, the principal and his teacher for giving these kids a real hands-on lesson in democracy. With the political situation in the country right now and the rise of the far right, I think it is important to give these kids hope. Maybe they’ll even become leaders in the future – ones who work through democracy and promote peace. Where are the schools that teach this? It’s a lesson that, in my eyes, is even more important than math or science, and I’m hoping they succeed.”

Muhammed has tons of plans in his mind for how he wants to advance the school community. He wants to improve the playground and to make some all-star sports teams, as well as organizing activities that are challenging and fun for the students. In his mind, these would be group-building activities that would bring the Jewish and Arab students together.

(l-r) Muhammed Hasnin and Itai Arbel

Itai Arbel, the newly-elected Jewish head of the student council, lives in the nearby moshav Mishmar Ayalon, and he has been traveling to the Wahat al-Salam Neve Shalom primary school since first grade. The day before the elections, just before each of the candidates presented their platforms in front of the school community, Itai and about five of his best friends ran around the schoolyard hanging hand-lettered signs that said “Vote for Itai” in Hebrew, Arabic and English. Itai speaks politely, with intelligence beyond his years.

“Other kids put more of an effort into getting elected than I did,” he says. “Some even had T-shirts. I think they voted for me because I had something new to offer them.

“I ran for a couple of reasons. I do want to change and improve things. But I don’t think my job is to just make the changes I think up. I represent all the students. I need to find out what the other students want and then to try to change things according to that. For example, some students have already asked to have the library and gym open during breaks. Activities during breaks are a big issue with the students, but things are already much better than when I started at the school. There is more playground equipment, for example. Still, recess needs to be fun.

“I know there is a lot of responsibility in leading the student council. I wanted that responsibility. We didn’t meet yet, though, because there was a visit to the school today and the teachers had to cancel.”

Itai likes sports – he has soccer and basketball practice several days a week. In the remaining day, he has scouts’ meetings. He likes to read, to be outside and to go hang out with his friends.

Itai is the oldest of three. One younger brother is in second grade at the primary school, and the youngest is in kindergarten. “He’ll be coming to the school next year,” says Itai. His mother is a teaching assistant at Tel Aviv University and the Reichman Institute, his father is the founder and head of a tech firm.