wfn.org | Rabbi Says Coexistence Possible in Israel

[JerusalemRelOrgs@aol.com]

Contact: Sarah Bernstein
Programs Director
Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel
972-2-672-6430
programs@icci.co.il
www.icci.co.il

or 
Ricki Lieberman, ICCI U.S. representative
212.580.5516
RickiLieberman@aol.com

by Rabbi Ron Kronish

 
JERUSALEM, March 2, 2001-- Only five days before the recent elections in 
Israel,  a one-day workshop entitled “Peace Education Among Jews and Arabs in 
Israel,”  was attended by over 50 representatives from more than 30 
organizations throughout Israel which are involved in education for 
coexistence and peaceful relations within Israeli society.   The event was 
convened by the Interreligious Coordinating Committee in Israel.

How was this possible when it appears that the political peace process in our 
region was grinding to a halt?  How could we pursue “education for peace and 
coexistence” at a time when violence appeared to be gaining the upper hand 
and when the conflict in our region is reaching new heights (or, more 
correctly, new depths), with a mood of despair and helplessness sweeping the 
land? 

The remarkable fact is that so many people from so many organizations came 
together to learn from and with each other because they believe, as I do, 
that it is imperative – now more than ever before – to strengthen and 
improve the educational programs in the many grass-roots groups in Israeli 
society that are out there providing educational programs every day between 
Palestinian Arabs in Israel and Israeli Jews who are all citizens of the same 
state.  

The recent rioting of Israeli Arabs last October, and the killing of 13 
Israeli Arabs during these riots, have brought the issue of Arab-Jewish 
coexistence within Israel to heightened levels of consciousness in Israeli 
society, so that all those organizations who are laboring in these 
educational vineyards in Israel are reassessing, revitalizing and 
re-invigorating their programs. 

We began our workshop with a panel discussion on the hot topic in Israeli 
society these days, “To what extent is the Israeli-Arab conflict being 
transformed from a national conflict to a religious conflict?  And, if this 
is so, what are the implications for those of us involved in interreligious 
education and education for peace?” 

Rabbi Eli Kahn of Kibbutz Ein HaNatziv, Mr. Ellias Jabbour of the House of 
Hope in Shfar’am, and Riad Kabaha, co-director of the Givat Haviva 
Arab-Jewish Center for Peace, where our workshop was held, all agreed that 
the rhetoric of the conflict was taking on more “religious” tones  – 
particularly extremist versions of religion – and that this had dangerous 
implications and presented serious problems for our educational work. 

After this initial panel discussion, we heard a report of a research project 
carried out by Rabbi Dr. Marc Rosenstein from Makom BaGalil at Moshav 
Shorashim on behalf of WCRP/Israel and ICCI for this workshop.  This research 
surveyed the work of many of the organizations affiliated with ICCI which are 
working in the field of education for Arab-Jewish coexistence (as well as 
some other organizations, outside the framework of ICCI) so as to give us 
some idea of what is going on in this field today in Israel. 

The bottom line, according to the research report, is that we don’t know very 
much in a systematic or comprehensive fashion about what is actually 
happening educationally in this field of endeavor in Israel. 

There has been precious little research on this so far and even less 
evaluation, so that we really don’t have any serious or sustained criteria or 
measurements as to what would constitute “success” or “excellence” in these 
programs. 

Almost all of what we know is based on “anecdotal” or descriptive data from 
the organizations involved.  Accordingly, it was concluded that there is a 
crying need for more research and evaluation in this field.  Perhaps a 
consultation of researchers and evaluators will emerge as an outgrowth of 
this discussion, so that we can begin to understand what we do know – and 
what we need to ask – about education for Arab-Jewish coexistence in Israel. 

Following two presentations of “models of excellence” by two of the larger 
organizations involved in education for peace and coexistence – the Adam 
Institute for Peace and Democracy and the Givat Haviva Arab-Jewish Center for 
Peace – we broke into three smaller workshops, in which new methods and 
materials for improving the quality of education for coexistence programs in 
Israel, were considered and discussed. 

Not only did participants in these workshops become familiar with classical 
Jewish and Muslim texts on peace and justice, but they also became acquainted 
with the best Israeli films – by both Arab and Jewish directors – which can 
be helpful in framing and clarifying issues of identity, a key existential 
issue in Israeli society. 

Furthermore, another workshop considered the possibility of developing a new 
model for education for coexistence based on principles and methods of 
religious reconciliation.  Such a model does not yet exist in Israel.  Yet, 
there appears to be great interest in developing such a model for use in 
education in this field in Israel in the future. 

Everyone who attended this workshop felt that there is great benefit in the 
networking, learning and sharing of new methods and ideas that went on among 
the participants.  Therefore, it was agreed to reconvene and expand the group 
in 3-4 months time, in late spring or early summer. 

In the two weeks since this workshop, I have been asked many times – in 
Israel and abroad – whether coexistence between Arabs and Jews in Israel is 
possible.   My answer, following this workshop, is a resounding “yes!”  

In the light of the ongoing crises in the Israel-Arab conflict at the moment, 
peace education among Arabs and Jews in Israel is undoubtedly more essential 
than ever before. 

 

=== 

Dr. Ron Kronish, a rabbi and educator who has lived in Jerusalem, Israel, for 
the past 21 years, serves as the Director of the Interreligious Coordinating 
Council in Israel (ICCI).