The Challenge of Multicultural Education: An Israeli Case Study

Israel has put forth as one of its goals the social integration into higher education of under-represented populations, including Druze, Bedouin, Palestinians, Ethiopian-Israelis, ultra-Orthodox Jews, and students with special needs. But this is easier said than done, as was driven home to me a few years ago when I taught a course on trauma in a multicultural M.A. program in Organizational Behavior. I brought a Palestinian colleague of mine to speak with this class, and almost immediately the class devolved into a screaming match about so many of the issues of living together in this country. Boxed into the corner, I found myself in a no-win situation: either I support my colleague or I support one group of vocal and upset students.

I would like to use this case-study to explore several questions: On the ground, what is serious multicultural engagement, and what are its benefits? How can we overcome the challenges that it presents to teachers and students? How could constructive multicultural dialogue take place in such cases where a Palestinian whose parents were expelled from the Old City Western Wall plaza meets with people whose Jewish Zionist identity embraces the narrative of redeeming the Kotel and returning home? Of course, it is good when a student’s worldview shifts as a result of meeting with others, but this change may be experienced as a loss, as a compromise of identity. How can we take this into account when we educate toward pluralism and multi-culturalism?









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