Founded in 1998, it is the first Israeli school to have a dedicated joint Jewish–Arab social structure.

The school is located in Eshbal, a kibbutz in the Misgav region of the Galilee near the Arab-majority city of Sakhnin in the Northern District.

The school's students live in Sakhnin, Sha’ab, and communities of the Misgav Regional Council, whose populations have expressed support for bilingual and multicultural education.

Hand in Hand's approach to bilingual education aims to create equality, understanding, and coexistence between the Arab and Jewish populations of Israel, who often live segregated from one another due to the historical effects of the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

Teachers do not actively translate, providing a strong incentive for students to attain fluency in their non-native language.