Recreational Activities as a Tool for Enhancing Relations between Arab and Jewish Students in an Israeli College

Devora Hellerstein Jessica Leitner Mahmood Sindiani

The Academic College at Wingate, Netanya, Israel

Sport can be an effective tool for reconciliation between groups in conflict (e.g, Kidd, 2013). Yet, literature on intercultural competence has established that contact between groups is not sufficient (e.g. Byram, 1997) and neither is sport per se. Rather, structured sport activity intended to promote interaction between individuals from different groups over a period of time can lead to a more significant understanding of one another (Sugden & Tomlinson, 2018).

Based on this assumption, we examined the effect of a leisure sport activity program on Arab and Jewish Israeli undergraduate students (average age, 23) studying at a college of physical education in Israel. Based on previous findings indicating that merely studying together had not changed the attitudes of either group towards the other (Sky & Arnon, 2017), we conducted a 6-week program, once a week, for the students. The first five encounters comprised leisure sport activities designed and led by students enrolled in a Leisure Sport for Peace course, and supervised by their professor. An average of 60 students participated in each of these meetings. The sixth meeting was a peak event of Israeli folk dancing led by a professional instructor, in which over 100 students participated.

Pre- and post-program questionnaires were distributed to the students. Jewish students filled out a questionnaire about their attitudes towards Arab students and Arab students filled out a questionnaire about their attitudes towards Jewish students. Statistical analysis indicated positive changes in attitudes on both sides, particularly on items such as being pleased to have an Arab/Jew as a friend and trusting Arabs/Jews.

Devora Hellerstein

Head of the English for Academic Purposes Dept. and Head of the International Relations Dept.

The Academic College at Wingate

As Head of the English for Academic Purposes (EAP) Department, I have been granted the opportunity to take an active role in developing curriculum and implementing the programs developed as a teacher. In general, the main objective driving my work in curriculum development and teaching has been the enhancement of students' English skills for purposes of academic and international communication. Complementing the above aims, as Head of the International Relations Department, my teaching and research has focused on developing students' intercultural communicative competence on the pluri-cultural and pluri-linguistic college campus.