In 2002, MERCHAVIM moved to its present offices in Ramla, just off the Tel Aviv/Jerusalem highway. With its rich mix of Jewish, Muslim and Christian-Israelis, secular and religious communities, immigrants from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia, Ramla represents the cultural diversity and complexity of Israeli society and remains the ideal center for MERCHAVIM's national shared citizenship education operations.

Today, 12 years after its establishment, MERCHAVIM's programs are being taught, supported and evaluated in some 400 schools and kindergartens in the Jewish-secular, Jewish-religious and Arab-Israeli school streams.

MERCHAVIM is currently beginning to implement MERCHAVIM 500, a strategic plan to provide an effective range of programming in 15% of Israeli kindergartens and schools (about 500 schools) by 2011, as the next step to achieving national uptake of shared citizenship education. 

Development of the Model by the "MERCHAVIM Group"

The shared citizenship model and the spaces of shared citizenship teaching kit, which is central to MERCHAVIM programming, were originally developed by a diverse group of Israeli teachers from all 4 school streams: Jewish secular, Jewish-religious, Ultra-Orthodox and Arab-Israeli.

This group represents a microcosmos of Israeli society: men and women, Jews and Arabs, secular and religious, center and periphery, left and right, new immigrants and veterans, physically healthy and handicapped. The group worked hard to overcome deep disagreements and to create a consensual shared citizenship vision based on shared values and common interests. Each member of the group was given the time, place and space to express verbally and in writing his or her feelings of "personal" and "group" identity. Over a period of 18 months, beginning in 1999, the group's efforts focused on learning about each other, understanding each others’ distinct and shared ideas relating to their Israeli citizenship and agreeing the basic building-blocks of MERCHAVIM’s unique shared citizenship education approach.

The unique program development process and the innovative and widely consensual shared citizenship education approach that it generated were to a large extent made possible through the uniquely diverse make-up of the original program development team. 

The original program development team 

• Michal Barkan – Born in England and lives in Mitzpe Hoshiya. Works as an English teacher at Yeshivat Hispin in the Golan and as a translator.

• Leah Shekler – Lives in Ofrat. Works as a Bible Studies and Jewish Philosophy teacher. Also works in the Values Management Dept. of the Ministry of Education, specializing in Judaism and Democracy.

• Miri Peleg – Born in Afula and lives in Nahariya. Vice-Principal of Amal School in Nahariya, teaches Hebrew Language and Social Education.

• Nachama Shani – Born in Tel Aviv and lives in Ramat Gan. Principal of Aviv Network Technological High School.

• Naomi Shmuel – Born in England and lives in Ma'ale Adumim. Works in the Immmingration Office and is a writer.

• Aziza Diab-Adris – Born in Haifa and lives in Shfaram. Teaches Art at the "Mar Elias" private Christian school in E'ablin.

• Yona Katzir - Born in Romania and lives in Haifa. Educational and Training Director at the Leo Baeck School in Haifa.

• Tikva Keren – Born in Or Akiva and lives in Hadera. Vice-Principal of the Tachamoni Religious High School in Hadera, teaches in and manages the school Computer Science Dept.

• Amos Harpaz – Member of the Ma'ale Chamisha Kibbutz and teaches History, Philosophy and Citizenship at the Brenner High School in Givat Brenner.

• Chava Lotan – Born in Russia and lives in Givat Ze'ev in Jerusalem. Teaches Music at the Centre for the Blind and is active in the Israeli blind community.

• Sophian Kabha – Lives in Barta'a in the Wadi Ara area. Educational advisor at the Um-el-Fachem High School and a journalist.

• Regina Bergen – Born in Kiev, Ukraine and lives in Lod. Responsible for the absorption of Russian-speaking immigrants at the Amal 1 Technological High School in Tel Aviv.

• Rabbi Arieh Smaj'a – Born in Tunisia and lives in Jerusalem. Rabbi of the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood of Jerusalem.

• Yona Keligwasser - Born in Nahariya – and lives in Kiryat Bialik. Teaches History and Literature.

• Sohil Haj – Born and lives in E'ablin. Vice-Principal of the "Mar Elias" private Christian school, teaches Arabic and responsible for social coordination at the school.

• Hana ben Heroush-Gabai – Born in Israel and lives in Bet Shemesh. Previously served as Religious Education Director at Melitz and now Branch Manager of "Chalad" (Youth Education Centre) in Jerusalem.