Hisham lives in the Arab town of Yafia, located between the large Arab city of Nazareth, and the Jewish city of Migdal Haemek. His family is part of the 30% Christian population in the town and for several generations, have belonged to Israel’s Greek Catholic community. He is the father of 2 daughters in their twenties who are active contributors to Israel’s Start Up Nation, both having graduated with degrees in electrical engineering at Israel’s reputable Technion Institute (often referred to as Israel’s MIT). They now work in the hi-tech ecosystem. His wife Rina is a math teacher in a private Catholic school in Nazareth and Hisham, until recently, was the director of the sports department in the Yafia Municipality. He is currently a lecturer in the field of Sport Science.
Hisham is a serious mountain biker, which is how he was introduced the world of the Michigan – Central Galilee Partnership Region. Through his passion for biking, he met Michael Mensky, an active volunteer in the Partnership and fellow biker. Michael had an idea to create a biking path in the region, crossing through 5 municipalities: the 3 Jewish cities of Migdal Haemek, Nof Hagalil and the Jezreel Valley and 2 Arab communities: Yafia and Nazareth. The 35-mile path, known as “Shvil Hashufut, Naim Beyahad” is now a reality with more than half of it completed. The name, a play on words in Hebrew, means both “moving together” and “pleasant together.”The path is a dream come true. In the backdrop of the bike path is the aim to strengthen Israel’s shared society.
Hisham is active in a number of forums that advocate co-existence amongst Israel’s Jewish majority and Arab minorities. He believes that only through dialogue and joint programming will Israel be a healthy and tolerant democracy with an open and accepting society as a beacon of cultural pluralism. The bike path has been a platform for creating this atmosphere. Today Hisham is on the project’s steering committee and, as a result, has met and developed warm friendships with many leaders in the Partnership, both in Israel and in Michigan. He has biked with fellow partnership bikers including the current Michigan co-chair, Ron Sollish, also an avid biker. Hashim is most impressed with his interactions with the Michiganders, whom he feels empathize with him as being part of a minority community and is keen to engage in dialogue.
Although the Covid-19 pandemic slowed the completion of the bike path, Hisham, with his positive demeanor, sees the advantages of the challenging year. He appreciates the family time, talking and being together for hours, learning new technological platforms and enjoying nature and the outdoors.
He is looking forward to hosting the Michigan visitors for a ride on the Partnership’s “Naim Beyahad” trail in the not-too-distant future.
And in the meantime, put down your bike and put on your running/walking shoes for our virtual tour around the Michigan Central Galilee to see the highlights of our region. More information is coming soon for this great three part event in April. Check out our promo video here.