British Friends

The British Friends of Neve Shalom was established by a Deed of Trust dated 9th August 1984 and was registered with the Charity Commission on 19th September 1984 as a charity whose primary purposes are:

• to raise funds for the School of Peace and its related schools at Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam in Israel;
• to provide Scholarships for Jews and Arabs to enable them to attend the educational system there;
• to act as an information centre in the UK for the purposes, aims and the activities of the above.

As long ago as 1979, there was a British support group, led by John Levy. The British Friends was registered as a charity in 1984 by Michael Lyons, brother of Coral Aron who with her husband Wellesley, was one of the founding members of NSWaS. The Organisation works out of a small office in Edgware, Middlesex run by our Executive Director and Development Executive, with the help of our Patrons, Trustees and Management Committee. Most of our activities take place in London, although our Subscribers come from all over the UK and often invite us to give talks and presentations outside London. Volunteers have set up support groups in Oxford and Southwest London and hold local events. We can supply details of these groups on request.

Our Vision embraces NSWaS's principles of justice and equal rights for all citizens and the peaceful resolution of conflict. We believe in respect for and understanding of racial, cultural religious and national diversity.

Our presence in the UK is enhanced through our teaching pack,  Dealing with Conflict . Based on the work of the School for Peace, it has been specifically designed for the global citizenship curriculum in English secondary schools. Its purpose is not only to educate young people about NSWaS but to alert them to many of the issues surrounding racism, xenophobia and exclusion and to suggest ways that they themselves can use to deal with conflict in their own lives.