Putting it on the agenda (again)
HISTORICAL DIALOGUE IN HISTORY EDUCATION IN ISRAEL,
THE GAZA STRIP AND THE WEST BANK
Aims of today
1.
2.
Brief and dense tour of education systems
and history education

British Mandate Palestine

Israel

Gaza Strip

West Bank
A position on history education to be
debated after the presentation(s)

children= citizens-in-the-making and thus key actors in
building long term reconciliation and political change.

Multi-perspective enquiry based history education in
form of local children’s histories as a way forward?
Mandate Palestine
Education structures

Few public schools for
Palestinians

American missionary schools
in larger cities

Jewish schools system (on
backdrop of pro-Jewish
immigration policy)
History education

Public schools for Palestinians


Hegemonic curriculum on
basis of British history
Jewish schools system

diaspora history

Establishment of Islamic
schools as counter-reaction
to British failure to provide
education for Palestinians

century long positive
relations between
Palestinians and Palestinians
Jew

Separate education systems
established mono-lingual
educational cultures and
spaces

connected histories rather
than separate

Educational systems
reproducing community
elites

social and political
fragmentation and development
of two nationalisms
(History) Education in Israel
Palestinians
1948-1966
•
•
Underfunded system and
overcrowded buildings
Use of hegemonic curriculum
influenced by Zionist curriculum
for Israeli Jews
•
1967-
•
Aim of loyalty to Israel
•
Despite curriculum change in
1970’s emphasis still on
•
Israeli hegemonic
commemorative narratives,
•
Jewish place names
•
Renamed Israeli Arabs
Education system for
‘Israeli Arabs' under military
control
•
Underfunded system, overcrowded buildings and
rotating teacher corps
•
Use of hegemonic curriculum
influenced by Zionist
curriculum for Israeli Jews
Education = imposed policy
like forced urbanisation
•
Civilian education system
established, but no
Palestinian influence
Israelis
1948-1966
Education system for ‘Israeli
Arabs' under military control
•
•
Bedouin
1967•
‘Civilian’ education system
established
•
Aim of loyalty to Israeli
•
Despite curriculum
change in 1970’s emphasis
still on
•
Israeli hegemonic
commemorative narratives
•
Jewish place names
•
Renamed Israeli Arabs
•
Aim of a Zionist historical
consciousness (radical break)
•
1st gen. Textbooks = national
commemorative narratives (1950s1970s )
•
2nd gen. textbooks in the 1970’s no
different (ministerial publications)
•
1980: 37% of Jewish students
explicated hated Arabs. 67% stated
that Arabs should not have full and
equal rights.
•
Moderation of textbooks from late
1980s to 2nd Intifada (partial ‘dezionisation’ during Peace Process)
Post-intifada = Zionism regained
hegemonic position in education
Continuation of imperial policy of separate education systems + mono-lingual
and oppositional educational cultures , identities and spaces
Openings & alternatives within Israel
In education

Handful of bi-lingual schools
established jointly by Israeli
and Palestinians parents


Civil Society


Shared history classes with
attempts to deal with
conflicting histories
History booklets with dual
narratives co-developed by
Israeli and Palestinian
scholars, teachers and
international observers
through the Peace Research
Institute of the Middle East
(Adwan & Bar-On)
NGO engagement (i.e. Zochrot
and the Haifa Initiative)
workshops, public lectures,
videos, articles, tours as well as
study and learning groups from
the early 2000’s

Theatrical plays for Israeli pupils
and students by both
professional theatres and coproductions with schools

Village histories of villages
destroyed with the
establishment of Israel on basis
of memories, oral history as well
as Ottoman and British land
ownership documents
Education in the Gaza Strip
1948-1966
1967-1993
•
•
•
UNRWA school system from
1949 with intention of
‘integration’
Pro-Egyptian curriculum by
Jordan due to control of
territory
•
Educational system still run
by UNRWA and textbook
curriculum by Jordan but in
context of Israeli
occupation
1968-1969: Re-examination
Suppression of Palestinian
history through of UNRWA
textbooks after Israeli
pressure through UN
Class rooms: some space
for Palestinian teachers to
focus on Palestinian
perspectives
1993Formation of Palestinian
Authority and Ministry of
Education
History curriculum under
Palestinian control for the first
time
1996-2001 textbooks found
moderate or unproblematic by
international analyses
Class rooms: some space
for Palestinian teachers to
focus on Palestinian
perspectives
•
•
Development of strong ties
to memories of older
generations of former
homes and villages
•
Development of strong ties
to memories of older
generations of former
homes and villages
Post-intifada textbooks turn
towards stronger emphasis on
Islam (PLO vs. Hamas), in some
cases liberation becomes Holy
War just as Christian Palestinians
are excluded
•
UNRWA schools vehicles for
development of strong
sense of Palestinian
identities
•
UNRWA schools vehicles for
development of strong
sense of Palestinian
identities
New online project of peace
education to be launched soon
(Jamil)
•
Education in the West Bank
1948-1966
Educational system still run
by UNRWA and textbook
curriculum by Jordan but in
context of Israeli
occupation
Formation of Palestinian
Authority and Ministry of
Education
•
1968-1969: Suppression of
Palestinian history via reexamination of UNRWA
textbooks after Israeli
pressure through UN
(Jordanian wish of taking
over West Bank)
History curriculum under
Palestinian control for the first
time
•
Class rooms: relatively large
space for Palestinian
teachers to focus on
Palestinian perspectives
1996-2001 textbooks found
moderate or unproblematic
by international analyses
Development of strong ties
to memories of older
generations of former
homes and villages
•
Development of strong ties
to memories of older
generations of former
homes and villages
UNRWA schools vehicles for
development of strong
sense of Palestinian
identities
•
UNRWA schools vehicles for
development of strong
sense of Palestinian
identities
UNRWA school system from
1949 with intention of
‘integration’
•
Pro-Jordanian curriculum
by Jordan due to control of
territory
•
Class rooms: relatively large
space for Palestinian
teachers to focus on
Palestinian perspectives
•
1993-
•
•
•
1967-1993
New project of peace
education to be launched
soon
Outcome: Education system part
of creating oppositional identities
Self

Suffering of nation

Nation ever present
rather than in the
making

Used for political
legitimisation
Other

De-humanised/de-familiarised

Silencing of the other’s suffering

Existence questioned or de-legitimised

Socio-cultural inter-action ignored
Theoretical platform: Historical dialogue through
localised children’s history of everyday life

History was part of problem why it also needs to be part of the
‘solution’ providing historical dialogue with aim of new
political horizon(s) for future generations
1.
Children are far more competent than often realised and
able to develop and share views of the world and their
place therein (Coady 2008)
2.
Children= citizens-in-the-making = key actors in building long
term reconciliation and political change (Coady 2008)
3.
Imperial + local children histories for context and to rehumanise the living spaces and neighbours and show
process of constructing of enemy images in older
generations (building on PRIME)
Imperial contexts
+ post-imperial inspiration
Cyprus
•
•
•
•
•
New textbooks from
Tyrkish Cypriot
government on basis of
desire to re-join Republic
of Cyprus from 2005
(withdrawn with change
of government)
Nation as a process
rather than ever present
static category
Re-humanisation of other
Nationalism portrayed
critically
Maps without dividing
lines
Northern Ireland
•
•
Multi perspective
and enquiry bases
textbooks
Specifically
designed for
promoting
-
Caring
-
Critical thinking
-
Recognition of
constructivist
process
-
Democratic
values
China, South korea & Japan
•
New un-official history textbook
from 2005 and 2011
•
written by scholars and teachers
from all three countries and
translated
•
No sponsor or subsidies
•
Difficult issues tackled
•
All 3 countries presented as one
community
1917-1948
• 1920s + 1930’s
– Stable inter-communal
relations
• Palestinian Revolt, 19361939
– Intercommunal tension
leads to violence +
inclusion of Jewish settlers
in police force
– Emergence and
development of enemy
images
• 1939-1947
–
–
Continued
intercommunal tension
and increasing
separation
Youth movement
settlements + post-war 11
points in Negev
(
)
1948 Middle Eastern war/
Nakba/War of Independence
•
220.000 urban and rural
Palestinians into Gaza Strip
after destruction of 45 out of
61 villages in district
•
Social tension challenges
existing categories and
relations (young old, rich-poor
etc.) altered
•
Establishment of geographies
of militarism
•
Militarisation of Everyday life
•
Enemy images reinforced with
the ethnic cleansing of
Palestine and the
establishment of Israel
1948-1956 (I)
- Overcrowded camps, poor housing
and growing number of children (=>
90.000), inadequare rations +
diseases
- Egyptian military + police regime
- Constant overflight of Israeli fighter
jets + Frequent mortar attacks + raids
- Israeli army kill policy (1951=>)
- 10 new Jewish settlements
- Emergence of revenge raids and
supply raids
- UN military observers suggest
building of security barrier
- Nassir: Formation of Palestinian Suez
Unit + Border Guards + Student Union
1948-1956 (II)
- Egyptian military raids and
bombings (mostly as response to
Israeli attacks)
- Promotion of miltiarism in +
negative discourse on Palestinians
children’s media, litterature and
board games
- Blur of time of peace and war
with frequent overflight of Israeli
fighter jets + massive military
exercisees + fortification projects by
100.000’s of people
- Emergence of revenge raids and
supply raids (latter often by youth
gangs)
- 10 new state initiated settlements
with offensive architecture with
soldiers, young pioneers + young
couples
1956-1957

French + Israeli naval
shelling and Israeli aerial
bombing of Gaza Strip

Thousands try to flee, but
no where to go + winter

Israeli Occupation: From
Bad to Worse => Loss of
hope of possibility return

Massacres in refugee
camps to locate militant
infiltrators => massive
trauma to already
struggling children and
youth
1957-1967
- Return of Egyptian Police and
Palestinian Border Guards
- UN military presence with 5.500
soldiers enforcing no-crossing regime
‘peacekeeping economy’ with
international presence pushing up
prices and egyptians buying luxury
goods from Lebanon + remittances
from Gulf states
- Occasional hootings and arrests of
palestinian adults and children in ADL
zone + - UN traffic accidents
- Intensifying Israeli overflights
- Establishment of Fatah and
deployment of armed companies in
1959 almost forced out UN forces from
fear of clashes
- Girls marrying younger as family
means of getting extra support, but
overweight of boys (Gulf remittances
scheme)
Phases
Phase 1
•
Gather interested
people
•
Brainstorm
•
Develop
•
Plan
•
Workshops
•
Production of
material or
supplements if using
textbook of PRIME
Phase 2
•
Test with
participating
teachers, elders and
local groups of
children
•
Evaluate
•
Revise
•
Test with
participating
teachers , elders and
local groups of
children
•
Evaluate
•
Revise
Phase 3
Spread message and
‘system’
Summary/Could it work?
Cyprus, Northern Ireland,
China, South Korea and Japan
Localised children’s histories:
Mandate Palestine, Isrel, West
Bank & Gaza Strip
Localised children’s histories:

Re-humanisation of others and their
living space

Re-humanisation of others and their
living space

Enquiry based (interpret documents,
interviews, films. etc)

Enquiry based (interpret documents,
interviews, films. etc)

Multiple simultaneous perspectives

Multiple simultaneous perspectives

Specifically designed for promoting

Specifically designed for promoting

-
Caring
-
Caring
-
Critical thinking
-
Critical thinking
-
Recognition of constructivist process
-
Recognition of constructivist process
-
Democratic values
-
Democratic values
Nations shown as processes

Nations shown as processes