Our Story
It Started with a Simple Request
In 2013, a group of women from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya approached a group of young students from West Jerusalem with a clear request: to learn Hebrew. Hebrew that would meet the urgent needs of everyday life.
The women of Issawiya faced a language barrier in nearly every aspect of their lives: navigating bureaucracy and public institutions, accessing healthcare, searching for work, pursuing higher education, and moving through public spaces. Many described how the lack of Hebrew undermined their confidence and deepened their dependence on others.
A Look Ahead
In a city that remains divided, shaped by tension, inequality, and limited access, Lissan continues to work from a simple belief:
Language can be a tool of exclusion, but also of connection, power, and change.
Lissan’s story is still being written - every day, in classrooms, in communities, and in the spaces where women claim their voices, their language, and their place in Jerusalem.