‘From the wells’: teaching openness in Judaism and Islam towards a shared society in Israel?

ABSTRACT

This article discusses the case study of a programme for Jewish and Palestinian educators in Israel and our initial insights into the outcome of the initiative. The programme aims to address racism, segregation, and prejudice and to support educators to teach culture and tradition in a more humanistic, inclusive, and critical way. To achieve this, it draws on inter-religious and intercultural dialogue. We will discuss how this method is rooted in both Judaism and Islam thus paving the way for participants to not only develop a better understanding of their own but also of others’ tradition. Importantly, it also highlights the interrelations of these traditions, which can contribute to the development of a shared society.

KEYWORDS:

• Peace education
• interreligious dialogue
• israeli-Palestinian relations
• scripture reasoning

Acknowldgement

Both authors genuinely thank The Massada Fellowships Programme at Worcester College for their time at Oxford University which allowed them to focus on developing this paper in an intellectually supportive environment.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The educational system in Israel is de facto segregated, as different groups (i.e. Jewish, Arab, national-religious and the religious population).

2. Originally this referred to not being involved in idolatry but was extended to include a prohibition on the imitation of any social rule or custom which characterised idolaters, such as their haircut or their clothes.

3. Otherwise we would have to conclude that since idolaters pray, Jews may not do so, or since they wash their wash their hands before prayer, Jews may not do so. To put the point in positive terms, if some religious norm is valuable there is no reason to refrain from following it just because it is followed by idolaters.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ayman K. Agbaria

Dr. Ayman Agbaria is  senior lecturer  in the Department of Leadership and Policy in Education at the University of Haifa and  specializes in the policies and politics of citizenship education and Islamic education in minority contexts. 

Daniel Statman

Prof. Daniel Statman is Head of the Philosophy Department at the University of Haifa and specializes in ethics and political philosophy.