‘To Obey or Disobey? This is the question’ NDE: nonviolent disobedience education in Israeli and US civics textbooks (1980–2012)

Abstract

‘To Obey or Disobey’ should be a life question for all free people, but for the Israelis, who are in intractable war with their neighbors while facing constant rifts among themselves, it is a concrete problem they have to face every day. Therefore, the research question posed by this article is: How is obedience of laws or military orders presented in Israeli and US Civics textbooks, and why? It examines the discussions of the issue referring to examples such as: Kfar Kassem in Israel (1956) when 43 Palestinian civilians were shot by a military Israelis obeying orders; the convicted soldiers were released after a short while. Other sensitive examples are: the atrocities committed during Vietnam War, and the US and the Israeli military ‘refuseniks.’ Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King are mentioned in the textbooks as positive examples for nonviolent protest. While this article is primarily concerned with the Israeli Civics textbooks, it compares them to a random selection of US textbooks in order to obtain a proper perspective of the Israeli texts. A total of 25 Civics textbooks are analyzed: 12 from Israel and 13 from the USA, from the period 1980–2012. Many textbooks that ignored the issue of civil/military nonviolent disobedience were reviewed, but only these chosen 25 include the dilemma under examination.

Keywords:

• NDE
• nonviolent disobedience education
• civil and military disobedience
• ‘soft indoctrination’
• ‘refuseniks’ (Israeli and American military)
• ‘a black flag’
• ‘The Threat’
• ‘God Code’ visa-vie ‘Satanic Code’

Acknowledgements

This research was authored in the framework of the project: ‘To Learn to live Together’ and was supported by the Friends of the Hebrew University, Frankfurt. Special thanks go to The United States Peace Institute (USIP) and to The Georg Eckert Institute, Germany. Similar issues to those examined by this article are addressed in Firer’s forthcoming publications.

Notes

1. When the text includes more than two references simultaneously, it is numbered as a note, and is included in the list below. Abbreviations: Hebrew – (H) Israeli News Paper – (INP) Firer Ruth – (FR). Israeli Ministry of Justice, 25 May 1993. Israeli Supreme Court 2004: Verdict 2383/04: Leora Milo against the Defense Minister (3, 1172). Ibid. 11 September 2004 paragraph Alef (H) ‘Penalty Law’ (1977) and reference to Eichmann’s trial 336/61 paragraph Nun Gimel (H). Ibid. definition of the character of civil revolt, civil disobedience, subjective conscience, disobedience, etc.

2. In Israel: ‘Left’ and ‘Right’ define the attitude towards the Palestinians rather than towards social and economic issues.

3. Ministry of Justice, 1993. Ibid. Isenberg. Gordon, 11 January 2005. Ettinger, 28 April 2005. Ezrachi, 1 April 2005. (H)

4. Israeli Supreme Court Verdict, 2004, Ibid. (H)

5. Tereblasi-Chadad (11 April 2010, 11) and Kashti (11 April 2010, 4). Their statistics differ slightly; hence Tereblasi-Chadads’ numbers are included.

6. Head (1990, 87–99), Liebovitz (1990, 17–22), Shelef (1982, 117–53), Tzemach (1985,17–28), Raz (1979, 1985, 51–66), Eiylam (1990), Sharp (1984), and Berenzon (27 November 1987).

7. The methodology chapter is based on FRs’ previous similar chapters. Also: Apple (1979, 40–1, 85, 89, 1982, 21, 1986, 84–5), Patton (1980), Starkey (1991).

8. In the same spirit: UN 1949; UNESCO 1989, 1995 and most of the other textbooks’researchers – see general bibliography.

9. Gordon (1988, 440): mentions Ricourer. Apple (1984, 8), van Dijk (1984, 8).

10. Gordon (1988), Hart (1995) Boden (1977).

11. Berelson (1952), Golden, Goodwin, and Coleman (1978).

12. Golden, Goodwin, and Coleman (1978, 241–97), Hart (1995, 220–39).

13. Golden, Goodwin, and Coleman (1978, 107, 485): Francis Bacon, Rene Descartes, John Locke. Boden (1977), Hart (1995, 45), Porter (1986, 380), Pratt (1972), Mehlinger and Jahrgan (1985), Sieborger (1994), UNESCO. (1989).

14. Ministry of Justice (1993): paragraph 24 of the Israeli Penalty Law, 1977). The Kfar Kassam case is excluded from the IDF (2006): ‘Laws of War in Battlefield,’ that aims at soldier education in IDF.

15. FR’s term: ‘Satanic Codes’ is the opposite of the well-known term ‘Gods codes’ that include: motherland, fatherland, parental love etc. Thus it means destruction, anarchy, betrayal, etc.; The ‘threat’ consists of ‘Satanic Codes’. With other means, they are used as ‘Agents of Soft Indoctrination.

16. Axelrod (US 2003, 301) Banks (US 2003, 586) Appleby (US 2006, 878).

17. Another interesting essay should be written on the topic of, ‘How much of the International Law and Covenants from 1945 onwards are inserted in the Civics textbooks of the states which officially are committed to them?

18. Yitzhar (1982): this extra-curricular educational booklet deals with ‘Pure Weapons’(within the borders of the Penalty Law). It refers to the complexity of ethical behavior during the aggressive conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

19. During January and February of 2011, the Israeli mass media dealt with legislation targeting NGOs receiving support from foreigner states or organizations allegedly acting against the State of Israel. This law was confirmed by the Israeli Parliament on 2 February 2011.

20. Iram (2003, x–xvii) and Wahrman (2003, 229–255), who claims that the Israeli Civics textbooks are ignoring problems in the issue of ‘The Israeli State.’

21. Firer and Barhum (2005): The Image of the ‘Good Child and Citizen’ as presented in Israeli and Palestinian Textbooks.’ Also in Greenbaum et al. (2006, 199–230).

22. Israeli Ministry of Justice, 25 May 1993. Israeli Supreme Court 2004: Verdict 2383/04: Leora Milo against the Defense Minister (3, 1172). Ibid. 11 September 2004 paragraph Alef (H) ‘Penalty Law’ (1977) and reference to Eichmann’s trial 336/61 paragraph Nun Gimel (H). Ibid. definition of the character of civil revolt, civil disobedience, subjective conscience disobedience, etc.