The Israeli–Palestinian conflict through theatre: a qualitative study of Israeli high school students

Abstract

Both theatre artists and educators believe the theatre has many advantages as a vehicle for the promotion of social and political issues. This study examines how the Israeli theatre represents the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and promotes peace and tolerance among young people. The study, conducted between the years 2005 and 2007, included 26 in-depth interviews with various creators (playwrights, directors and actors), who intended their plays to be seen by adult and high school audiences, mapping out and analysing the themes of 36 plays that dealt with the Israeli–Palestinian conflict from different angles. This article will present the main findings of 22 focus groups held with 110 teenagers about six sample plays that were chosen. Analysis of the findings shows that the plays provided the teenagers with new information about difficulties the Palestinian population has to deal with, and deepened their thinking about issues and dilemmas related to the occupation. However, watching the plays in the school setting made it impossible to realise the potential of using plays as an intervention tool, namely to initiate an open and deep discussion about issues and dilemmas of tolerance and democracy.

Keywords:

• tolerance
• conflict
• moral education

Acknowledgements

This study was funded by grants from the Vidal Angel Post-Doctoral Fellowships for the Research Against Hate and Bigotry awarded to Dr. Anat Gesser-Edelsburg at the Minerva Center for Human Rights, the Hebrew University and the Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research (TSC) at Tel Aviv University awarded to Dr. Anat Gesser-Edelsburg, Prof. Nurit Guttman and Prof. Moshe Israelashvili.

Notes

1. An association was found between the child's developmental level and perception of the ‘other’. The more developed his self-identity, the less need for the negation of the ‘other’ in order to define personal identity.

2. The present study was part of a wider research project about ‘Encouraging tolerance and dealing with hatred and racism among young people through the theatre: are educational plays an important and effective means?’ The project included examining a range of plays on topics related to human rights.

3. Choref be Qalandia (Winter in Qalandia) by Nola Chilton based on Lia Nirgad's novel; Halom Aravi (Arab Dream) by Moni Yosef, Pablo Ariel and Roi Rashkes; Plonter (Mishap) by Yael Ronen; Nekudat Mabat (Viewpoints) by the Peres Center for Peace; and an Israeli–Arab student play named Beresheet (In the Beginning) and Ana Ba-Shchakim (Ana in Heavens) based on Anne Frank's diary by Edna Calo Livne, which have been both regarded as a single play event for the purpose of this study.

4. An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) checkpoint, usually called an Israeli checkpoint, is a barrier erected by the IDF with the stated aim of enhancing the security of Israel and Israeli settlements and preventing those who wish to do harm from crossing. Most of the checkpoints in the West Bank are not located on the boundary between Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, but rather throughout the West Bank. IDF checkpoints may be manned by the Israeli Military Police, who perform security checks on Palestinians, the Israel Border Police, and/or other soldiers.

5. The Israeli Occupied Territories are the territories which have been designated as occupied territory by the United Nations and many other international organisations, governments and others to refer to the territory occupied by Israel from Egypt, Jordan, and Syria after the Six-Day War of 1967.

6. Raanana, Rehovot, Petach Tikva, Yahud, Kiryat Malachi, Ramle, Lod, Nachlat Yehuda, and Kibbutz Sasa.

7. Name given to the 1949 Armistice lines that constituted the de facto borders of pre-1967 Israel.

8. MachsomWatch, in existence since 2001, is an organisation of Israeli women peace activists against the Israeli occupation of the territories and the systematic repression of the Palestinian nation (source: http://www.machsomwatch.org/en, accessed 28 March 2010).

9. For example see Cohen (2004), Frost (2004), Seligman (2004), Sullivan, Piereson and Marcus (1982).

10. For example see Cohen (2004), Peffley, Knigge, and Hurwitz (2001), Vogt (1997), Sullivan, Shamir, Walsh and Roberts (1982).