The Most Important Ministry for Israel’s Future

Ma’ariv, Israel, June 20

If there is one lesson we can learn from the violent riots that broke out across the country last month, it is just how dangerous the rift between Jews and Arabs in Israel is. Decades of alienation, hostility and suspicion led to an explosion. Today, most Jewish and Arab youth will never have the opportunity to meet with each other. From there, the path toward describing each other as enemies is very short. Too short. That’s why the new government sworn in last week, which is established on the basis of a Jewish and Arab partnership, is an important step in correcting this situation. And the truth is that one single governmental office can change the entire dynamic between Jews and Arab: this isn’t the Ministry of Security or the Ministry of Defense, but actually the Ministry of Education. In order to succeed in its mission to create a better future for all Israeli children, three immediate steps must be taken by the new minister of education. The first step is to build and launch a curriculum focused on coexistence. In the last two decades, following the collapse of the peace process in the late 1990s, faith and investment in education for a shared Jewish-Arab society has disappeared almost completely from textbooks. As long as the State of Israel chooses not to educate its children for democracy, equality and the pursuit of a common life, the gaps in Israeli society will only increase and violence will only grow. The second step is to create an in-depth and ongoing system of acquaintance and encounter between Jewish and Arab students. Such encounters require preparatory work and processing, professional guidance and shared learning. The third step, and perhaps the most urgent, is the study of spoken Hebrew and Arabic at a high level in the education system. According to data from the Israel Democracy Institute, about 74% of Jews do not know Arabic at all, and about 30% of Arabs do not speak fluent Hebrew. This is an absurdity that requires correction. Only citizens who can easily talk to each other will be able to create a common life of peace and equality. I’m convinced that if more Jews had spoken Arabic, they would have been significantly less afraid of their fellow Arab citizens.  To the new honorable education minister, we congratulate you on your new role. You’re entering the most important ministerial office for the future of Israel. The Ministry of Education is the only one that competes in size and annual budget with the Ministry of Defense, and not by coincidence – since it’s responsible for the security of society itself in the country. You are entering a position during a period of an extremely severe educational crisis. Pupils who have lost more than a year of regular social and academic life, teachers who have stretched to the limit in an attempt to teach remotely, and a wave of violence that swept the country and left many young people, Jews and Arabs, wondering if they have a common future in this country. Precisely against the backdrop of such a severe crisis in Jewish-Arab relations in Israel, this government was formed, which is supposed to represent the vast majority of Israeli citizens. It’s clear that in order for there to be citizens who can live here together, they must be raised to believe in coexistence. We, in civil society organizations, have been working with the Ministry of Education for decades to promote the cause of a joint society and we will assist you in whatever you need. You have the power to shape the future of the country, please use it to your – and our – advantage. – Michal Sela (translated by Asaf Zilberfarb)