Schools using Waldorf educational methods have been flourishing in Jewish communities in Israel since 1989 when the first school was started with 13 children. With a growth rate of students over ten percent annually, there are more than 2,300 children in 13 Waldorf schools throughout Israel today. Additionally there are over 80 kindergartens in Israel using these methods.
Arab communities in Israel have also welcomed this healing and humanistic education. Ein Bustan is the first integrated Jewish/Arab Waldorf kindergarten in Israel. El Zeitoun, the first Arab Waldorf School in Israel, is also partnered in a pilot Friendship Bridge program with Harduf, a Jewish Waldorf School. This provides entry to developing a common culture, including shared values with a focus on conflict resolution.
Last year an astounding 58% of graduates from Harduf Waldorf High School signed up to perform an extra year of volunteer community service in Shnat Sherut Shlishit. The national average of Jewish Israeli high school graduates that choose to add this additional year of volunteer service is 2%. This demonstrates how youth can become hands-on contributors to the larger community and why this educational phenomena is important to support in both Jewish and Arab cultural life.