ACT Holds Community Dialogue Session to Address School Violence in Jerusalem

On Wednesday, 14 January 2026, ACT for Conflict Resolution held a community dialogue session in Jerusalem as part of the project “Early Action for Safer Communities,” aimed at discussing a community initiative to address the growing incidence of school violence.

The initiative was grounded in a realistic assessment of the phenomenon, emphasizing that school violence is not merely an individual behavioral issue, but one rooted in broader social, educational, and cultural factors. These include the erosion of dialogue-based practices, the weakening of the school’s educational role, and the impact of high-pressure parenting approaches. The initiative presented a practical vision for fostering a safe school environment through activating community mediation mechanisms, promoting positive values, strengthening partnerships between schools and parents, and proposing the establishment of community mediation councils involving representatives from schools and the local community.

The session featured extensive discussions with the participation of active Jerusalem-based institutions. Participants stressed the importance of openly acknowledging the issue of school violence and addressing it through comprehensive approaches. They highlighted the need to involve students as part of the solution, raise parental awareness around positive parenting practices, and engage community leaders and respected figures in resolving disputes at the local level, as an alternative to the immediate involvement of law enforcement.

Participants also agreed that school safety should be understood as a comprehensive educational culture encompassing students, teachers, and school administrations. They recommended restoring core educational values within the learning process, strengthening the role of teachers, introducing student mediation programs from early educational stages, and training school counselors to replicate and expand these practices across schools.

ACT emphasized that the session represents a foundational step toward building broader partnerships between schools, local communities, and Jerusalem-based institutions, contributing to the creation of a safer and more stable educational environment for students.