Palestinian couple Manar and Milad run House of Hope, the West Bank’s only Waldorf school. Here, every day starts in a circle as the students pledge to be non-violent and peaceful people. The daily prayer ends with the resonant words of Martin Luther King, expressing the dream to live in a nation where they “will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.” As the State of Israel's continued genocide of the Palestinian people intensifies and settler violence escalates in the West Bank, the prayer becomes a difficult philosophy to uphold. For Manar, the current conflict deepens the urgency of the school’s work, even as she acknowledges the personal toll of having lived her entire life under Israeli occupation. An inspiring school that has much to teach about true empathy, universal rights and the persistence of hope. Aisha Jamal