Younited Boarding School in Israel teaches next generation of world leaders

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The Younited Boarding School in Northern Israel is teaching young adults from all over the world leadership and conflict resolution skills.

"All of them come to this neutral zone to build how they hope the world can look perfect," said Nurit Gerey, Managing Director at the Younited International Boarding School.

The international boarding school has deep ties to Santa Barbara. The Congregation B'nai B'rith, the oldest and largest synagogue in Santa Barbara, supports the school through funding, sponsoring students to visit the central coast, and supports students after they graduate with an International Baccalaureate diploma.

The student body at the boarding school is made up of 150 co-ed students between the ages of 15 to 18, most of whom are from countries in conflict including Israel, Ukraine, and Armenia. Jewish and Arabic students live and learn together.

"So there are organized lessons, but on the other hand, there is real life. They share rooms. We have three people in the room. A Jew, an Arab, and an international sharing a room. So when they go to sleep at night, they find themselves sharing their struggles or the best thing that happened in their day with someone they would never dream of even talking to."

Gerey said the school is committed to providing an exceptional education to these future leaders, including those from underprivileged backgrounds who could never afford this type of education.

Since Hamas's Oct. 7 attack in Gaza, the school has continued to operate and Gerey says the school's mission is more important now than ever.

"Get the young people to live together, to talk to each other, to to create a solution that is right for everyone, not in the hands of those big politicians, but in the hand of the youth through education. We can make it happen."

The school rebranded before Oct. 7 from the 'Givat Haviva International School' to the 'Younited School'.