ACRI's Sharaf Hassan at the conference (Credit: Tsila Zalt)At a first-of-its-kind conference at the Kibbtuzim College of Education and co-hosted by ACRI, some 300 teachers and other education professionals discussed how the education system is coping with racism in Israel.
Set against the backdrop of a disturbing rise in incidents of racism in recent weeks, the teachers yesterday (March 17, 2013) explored the difficulties that the educational system faces in addressing the phenomenon, and examined different means for meeting the challenges that lie ahead.
The conference is part of a project aimed at enhancing and mainstreaming anti-racism education in Israel financed by the European Union, and was also supported by the Rosenzweig-Coopersmith Foundation and the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation.
Click here to see photos of the conference.
Sharaf Hassan, Director of ACRI’s Human Rights Education Department, opened the conference by speaking about the racist atmosphere pervading Israeli society today, the expression of which is felt not only in overt statements, but also in subtle, more sophisticated, racist practices, like the establishment of acceptance committees in small communities, and the exclusion of non-residents (i.e. ultra-Orthodox and Arabs) from some public parks. Mr. Hassan called upon the new Minister of Education, Shai Piron, to prioritize the fight against racism in his educational policy, and to ensure that democratic values are integrated into the curricula of all school subjects.
Professor Nimrod Aloni, Director and Chair of the Institute for Progressive Education at the Kibbutzim College of Education, noted that “the central challenge in teaching values is not strengthening love or devotion to our heritage, but strengthening the values of respect for the ‘other’ who is different than us.” Referring to the policies of outgoing Minister of Education Gideon Sa’ar, Aloni pointed out that whereas Sa’ar saw education as a tool to advance nationalist Zionist feelings, “loving your children is a natural thing – it is much more difficult to love the other, the one who is ‘problematic’ for you – and this is the true education of values. We see this in the Jewish tradition, where the root of the word for moral means ‘to be strict with myself in order to be fair with others.’ Only be internalizing this, will we succeed in eradicating the scourge of racism.”
Yehudit and Asher Springer, educators and authors of the children’s book, Parents in Many Colors, a personal story about their experience as a “mixed” couple, also spoke at the conference. “I was the only educator of Ethiopian origin in the entire Southern District,” Mrs. Springer said, adding that she was subject to much more oversight than her peers because of her race. Despite the difficulties, she called on everyone who is concerned for the future of Israeli society to mobilize all their talents and abilities to help improve education of the next generation.
Amnon Rabinovitz, teacher of history and civics at Sieff and Marks High School in Jerusalem, spoke of his intensive struggle to deal with expressions of racism among his students. “Racism must be dealt with from an emotional and moral perspective. Preaching is not enough.” Rabinovitz criticized the educational system’s obsession with tests scores and measurement that arises from existing examination methods and benefits from the support of the universities. “The obsession with measurability denies the system the possibility to teach the values of tolerance and love of mankind in a deep and meaningful manner.”
Bilal Yousef, filmmaker and teacher in Kafr Qanna and Nazareth, spoke of personal experiences that led him to work in education against racism, and on the understanding that racism is born of fear. “The discrimination and racism that are the daily bread of Arab students cause them to be on the defensive and divert the discussion from their own racism to the racism that they experience from the Jewish majority.” Yousef also pointed out that the media’s coverage of racist events and messages often strengthens their legitimacy.
The conference closed with a stirring speech by ACRI President Sami Michael:
“The main culprit is not the one who flies the racist sign, not the one who kicks Arabs, not the one who throws stones at them, not the one who lynches them. The education system is the guilty party, because it reduces the study of world history to just twenty percent, because the Education Ministry confiscates copies of history textbooks published by the Zalman Shazar Center in order to prevent students from being exposed to the point of view of the other, and because when schoolchildren from Ar’ara participate in a human rights march carrying signs for equality and against racism, the school is reprimanded by the Education Ministry on the grounds that this contravenes regulations.
“The education system is guilty because it has not acted sufficiently to convey the message that we all belong to the same wonderful race, the human race. There is no superior race, there is no inferior race, there is no pure race, and there is no impure race.
“The political parties with their demagogic representatives are guilty, the rabbis who preach hatred and racism are guilty. I feel great shame about the signatures of 300 Rabbis on the Jewish law ruling banning the sale or rental of apartments to non-Jews. The Jewish religion has never been as disgraced and toxic as it appears today, particularly in the occupied territories and “holy”Jerusalem and Safed. These Rabbis act as if there is no God. Worse than that, they act as if they themselves were God. Woe be such a distorted God.
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“Whoever adopts the denial mechanism should please volunteer to spend a day posing as a Palestinian in the occupied territories, an Arab in Jerusalem or Safed, or a black person knocking on the door of a nightclub. In a racist atmosphere, it is not only the preacher of racism who is responsible for sowing the seeds of calamity. Those who deny the existence of racial injustice are also responsible, those who are not partners to racial injustice but have a finger in the pie and remain silent, whether out of fear or indifference. They may well find themselves victims of a racist regime tomorrow. They may lose their freedoms and their liberal way of life. It happened not long ago in enlightened and humanistic Europe, and if we do not pull ourselves together and shake off the affliction of the racist epidemic, it will happen here tomorrow to us too.”
Further information:
- Click here to read Sami Michael’s keynote address (in English.).
- Click here to read Sharaf Hassan’s opening speech (in English).
- Click here to see photos of the conference.
