When Jewish and Zionist Identities Encounter Otherness: Educational Case Study

Abstract

In this chapter, I will propose three different paradigms through which we can interpret the connections and tensions that exist between the concepts of "identity" and "otherness." Subsequently, I will consider the implementation of this theoretical analysis in a specific context related to the intractable conflict in which Israeli society is involved. An important observation in Bar-Tal's work is that almost all intractable conflicts are identity based. There is no doubt that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is such. Both the Jews and the Palestinians perceive the conflict in terms such as sovereignty in the territory which is "our homeland" and "the cradle of our culture tradition". Therefore, it is extremely important to analyze the role of each paradigm in encouraging or moderating the intractability of the conflict. The implementation of the theoretical analysis will be based on an educational program which was devised and put into practice in an elementary school in Israel following expressions of racism against Muslims. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)