The vision that this generation of Palestinian and Israeli children would grow up under peaceful conditions has been shattered by the renewed outbreak of the conflict in September 2000. Children are paying a very heavy price in a conflict primarily taking place among the civilian population. Not only are they at direct risk for physical and emotional harm as a result of the conflict, they are also being robbed of their childhood and hope for the future.

Project CHERISH was conceived to ease the present realities of Israeli and Palestinian children by helping them regain their confidence, their ability to function in daily life, and their hope for the future. This multidisciplinary project focuses on psychological and social rehabilitation. It addresses two target groups – the professional community and children and their families.

Project CHERISH is a partnership between the Israel Center for Treatment of Psychotrauma of Herzog Hospital, the Center for Development in Primary Health Care at Al Quds University; the JDC-Middle East Program (JDC-Israel, Ashalim the Myers-JDC Brookdale Institute, and AJJDC).

Project CHERISH is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Devleopment (USAID), the European Union Partnership for Peace Initiative, the One to One Children's Fund (UK), the Bernard van Leer Foundation (Netherlands), the Rich Foundation (Switzerland), and the World Health Organization (WHO). Marshal Weinberg