Sustainable Israeli-Palestinian Projects Announces 2026 Mini-Grant Awardees

“The grassroots projects supported through SIPP grants demonstrate the deep, shared commitment to peaceful and prosperous coexistence that is held by so many everyday Israelis and Palestinians,” said Peter Ornstein, SIPP co-founder and President. “The 2026 grants are representative of the range of initiatives that have received SIPP funding over the years.”

This year’s grant recipients include:

• Medabrot Ivrit (Women Speaking Hebrew) – This program, administered by Israeli NGO Lissan, focuses on removing the daily language barrier experienced by Palestinian women from East Jerusalem, by providing practical, relevant, and culturally appropriate Hebrew language courses and materials. Lissan seeks to advance gender and linguistic justice in the region. https://www.lissan.org/?lang=en

• Connecting through Arts – This bilingual, cross-cultural educational program brings together Israeli and Palestinian children for creative arts and English learning, using ecological themes such as water stewardship and recycling as the basis for art projects. It is operated by the Israel NGO Challenge, which is dedicated to “building a joint future for all in our region.” https://challenge.org.il/

• Monira Women’s Cooperative – This pilot initiative from the Israeli NGO Challenge teaches 20 Israeli and Palestinian women impacted by conflict to create marketable crafts using sustainable techniques like natural dyeing and up-cycling recycled/natural materials. The goals are income generation, building confidence, and fostering cross-cultural solidarity. https://challenge.org.il/

• EMDR Peacebuilding Incubator for Arabic Speaking Therapists – EMDR 4 Peace trains Arabic-speaking mental health professionals to use EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) therapy, in order to help heal and ease trauma.  The incubator program targets 7-10 Palestinian and Arab Israeli EMDR therapists, providing advanced consultation and mentorship from senior Jewish EMDR consultants. The field currently lacks senior-level EMDR practitioners who are native Arabic speakers — a structural barrier to advancing peacebuilding work. This project will facilitate the creation of a cadre of native Arabic-speaking senior EMDR practitioners to address this gap.  https://EMDR4peace.org/

• The Teachers’ Lounge, Haifa – This program, offered by Hebrew Union College, promotes multicultural tolerance and shared society by convening Jewish and Arab educators in Haifa for facilitated dialogue and professional training sessions. It aims to cultivate educators as agents of change, modeling tolerance and mutual respect. https://teachers-lounge.org/

• Empowering Palestinian Communities Through Sustainable Greywater Reuse – This vital infrastructure program, also supported by the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, introduces off-grid greywater treatment systems using constructed wetlands to address severe water shortages in Palestinian West Bank communities. It includes social awareness and technical development, promoting integrated cross-border cooperation among Israeli, Palestinian, and potentially Jordanian experts on sustainable water solutions. https://arava.org/ 

In addition to its mini-grant program, SIPP provided a grant this year for the EmpowHer Project through the Jumpstarting Hope in Gaza Initiative to support three women-owned food businesses in a Gaza refugee camp, advancing empowerment of women and food security. This Initiative is a joint project of Israeli NGO Arava Institute for Environmental Studies and Palestinian NGO Damour for Community Development.

“With so much painful news coming out of the region over the past few years, it has been difficult for Americans to obtain information about positive developments promoting peace and cooperation,” said Alan Sachs, SIPP board member. “It’s exciting to see these projects making a real difference in people’s lives.”

Additional information on these projects is available here.

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About SIPP.  Our mission is to support projects that engage Israeli and Palestinian communities working to further common environmental and civil society interests, and to build meaningful connections between people in the United States and Israeli and Palestinian communities involved in these efforts.  SIPP fills a unique niche among US based NGOs by supporting innovative, grassroots initiatives that can benefit from small infusions of financial, technical, expert and networking support. To find out more about SIPP, to volunteer, or to make a tax-deductible donation, visit www.sipprojects.org. For a complete list of mini-grant recipients since the program’s inception, see www.sipprojects.org/projects.  

View a testimonial video.