Community-engaged courses in a conflict zone

A case study of the Israeli academic corpus

Bibliographic Data

ID12876017
AuthorsDaphna Golan (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, corresponding author), Nadera Shalhoub‐kevorkian (0000-0002-2807-0540, Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
Year2014
Volume11
Issue2
Pages181-207
Publication date2014-03-31
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Peace Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1740-0201 • E-ISSN: 1740-021X
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17400201.2014.898624
OpenAlexW2102327785
LanguageEN
Citations received12
References cited56

This article is based on an action-oriented study of 13 community-engaged courses at 11 institutions of higher education in Israel. These courses were not part of peace education programs but rather accredited academic courses in various disciplines, all of which included practice and theory. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how these courses provided transformative learning experiences, allowing Jewish and Arab students to reexamine social issues in a micro-climate of openness and intellectual rigor, thereby developing their commitment to engaging with the 'other' and the 'otherized.' By providing opportunities for reflection, the courses allowed students to build new networks of relationships within a deeply divided society. Nevertheless, the research reveals that though the students in these courses were highly aware of inequalities in society, they tended to self-define as non-political both in their theoretical learning and their action for change. The Israeli–Palestinian conflict and questions of war and peace were almost absent from the academic classroom. The reluctance to engage in political discussion or activism – even in Partnership classrooms where students are given the opportunity to encounter the 'other' first hand – speaks volumes about the fear that prevails on campuses in Israel and other conflict zones.Keywords: civic responsibilitycollege/universitycommunity engagementhigher educationIsrael/Palestine AcknowledgmentsWe wish to thank Sana Khsheiboun, Hannah Green, Tal Manor, Leah Even, and Zvika Orr for their research assistance, and Janine Woolfson for translation and editing. We thank the reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions. This action research is a collaborative effort of the group of faculty members who helped design the study. We thank them for allowing us to interview students from their integrative courses, for participating in study groups over a period of three years, and for reading and responding to the research findings. We gratefully acknowledge their support.Notes1. In the academic year 2010–2011, these figures do not include the Open University of Israel.2. For a list of all the courses, their disciplines and main objectives, see http://law.huji.ac.il/upload/Toolkit.pdf.3. The course 'Planning, Sustainability and Human Rights: Theory and Practice – the Right to Adequate Housing in Jaffa Gimel' included only Jewish students who worked in a Palestinian–Jewish area with a Jewish community.4. About 65.4% of Israelis (68.3% of Israeli Jews) and 62.3% of Palestinians think it is impossible to reach a final status settlement these days (Truman Institute and PSR Citation2012, 8). Note that most surveys include information about Jews in Israel and Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, and not about Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel, who are the focus of this research.5. A prominent example is The School for Peace in the Jewish–Arab village of Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam. See: http://nswas.org/rubrique138.html.6. Tel Aviv University, 16 February 2012.7. Discussion held on 20 June 2010 at the fourth national conference of the Campus-Community Partnership, entitled 'A Multicultural Academy?' at Tel Hai Academic College, 20–21 June 2010.8. For example, the administration of the Western Galilee College outlawed posting announcements of any sort that were not in Hebrew, at a time when the student body at the college was 30% Palestinian (Motion 156/99 [Haifa District Court]: Western Galilee Student Association et al. v. Western Galilee College et al.). Recently, the School of Education at the College for Academic Studies in Or Yehuda, where the student body comprises 20% Palestinian students, issued a directive prohibiting lecturers to talk to students in any language that is not Hebrew (Kashti Citation2013). Political protest by Palestinian students on the campuses is subject to strict supervision and limitations. For example, during the military campaign in Gaza in 2009, a legal protest vigil was held near the entrance to Ben Gurion University. The university's Security Unit documented the demonstration using a hidden camera and called the police, which in turn arrested and charged five of the demonstrators, four of whom were Palestinians (Criminal Case 345-09 [Beer Sheva Magistrate Court], State of Israel, Prosecution Office, Negev-Beer Sheva Region v. Tzoref et al.). Security officers from that same university dispersed other protest demonstrations of Palestinian activists on campus and exclusively barred leftists from distributing political propaganda materials (http://www.acri.org.il/he/?p=13135). On several occasions, the administration at the University of Haifa suspended public activities on campus for periods ranging from 7 to 15 days around the time of Naksa Day (Day of Setback marking the outbreak of the Six Day War in 1967), during the Gaza Flotilla and during various Israeli military campaigns. See, for example, Motion 9232-06-11 [Haifa District Court]: Khatib v. University of Haifa; Motion 51057-11-12 [Haifa District Court]: Minski et al. v. University of Haifa. Another area of supervision and limitation has to do with access to positions of influence. For example, at Zefat Academic College, where 60% of the students are Palestinians, a clause was introduced to the college regulations stipulating that those running for president of the Student Association must have completed military service or national/civil service for a period of at least 24 months, thus blocking Palestinian students from running for this job (http://adalah.org/heb/?mod=articles&ID=1237).9. Note that this fear was expressed in the interviews and not in the written survey, apparently due to the fear of writing about this topic in an official survey bearing the university logo.10. This threatening atmosphere worsened and found concrete expression in the attempt to close down the Department of Politics and Government at Ben Gurion University of the Negev. On 4 September 2012, the Sub-Committee for Quality Assessment of the Council for Higher Education in Israel (MALAG) recommended not permitting registration of a new group of students for the academic year 2013–2014. Many viewed this recommendation as politically motivated blow to academic freedom, in view of the fact that several members of the department faculty are human rights activists or known opponents of the occupation (see, e.g. Nesher Citation2012; Ophir Citation2012). Following a struggle led by the university and Israeli and international academics, the Council reversed the closure recommendation (Nesher Citation2013).11. Meeting of faculty members teaching community-engaged courses, held at Tel Aviv University, 16 February 2012.12. Meeting of faculty members teaching community-engaged courses, held at Tel Aviv University, 16 February 2012.13. Statement by Prime Minister Netanyahu: 'No Love Boat', 2 June 2010, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Speeches+by+Israeli+leaders/2010/Statement_PM_Netanyahu_2-Jun-2010.htm.14. Statement from the Palestinian presidency, in: Aljazeera, Global outrage over Israeli attack, 3 June 2010, http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2010/05/20105316216182630.html.15. United Nations, Human Rights Council, 'Report of the international fact-finding mission to investigate violations of international law, including international humanitarian and human rights law, resulting from the Israeli attacks on the flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian assistance', A/HRC/15/21, 27 September 2010, 1. http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/15session/A.HRC.15.21_en.PDF

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