Elements of an Education Toward Peace and Reconciliation in the Middle East

by Dr. Laila Nazzal

Peace education is an important mechanism in the socialization of adults and children alike. It is an important tool by which people in conflict are educated in order to bring reconciliation and solutions to their problems. It is through educational institutions, such as kindergartens, schools, universities and colleges that norms and values, be they social or political, are taught. It is through the educational process, both formally and informally, that children and adults learn the stereotypical consensus prevailing in their societies.

Decades of dehumanizing each other

Enemies of one another, Palestinians and Israelis have long depicted one another in demonic, derogatory terms. 'All Arabs are evil', and the other side, 'All Jews/Israelis are evil.' Each side has become immersed in their own suffering and their own survival. Decades of dehumanizing each other, of depicting one another as demons and inculcating this in each successive generation have succeeded in creating cultures of hate and violence. As the Irish poet George William Russel said at the beginning of the century: 'By intensity of hate, nations create in themselves the characters they imagine in their enemies. Hence, it is that all passionate conflicts result in the inter-change of characteristics.'

The historical conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is viewed in terms of absolute right vs. absolute wrong; as victims and victimizers, and as winners or losers. Moreover, the message that resonates is that of their sole national unity and identity vs. that of the enemy. For the Jew/Israeli, there is the fear of destruction, as evident in the Haggadah: 'In every generation, they attempt our annihilation.' And during Passover, every Jew recites that in every generation a person must feel as if they themselves were part of the Exodus from Egypt. The enemy, for the Israeli/Jew changes with each historical stage or passage.

The Jewish psyche

The theme of 'power vs. helplessness' dominates both peoples' lives.

The world-view of Jews/Israelis is dominated by the fear of persecution. This collective memory makes them susceptible to fears, vulnerability, anger and guilt. Reiterated in their every-day conversation is 'we won't let it happen again;' 'we are strong and threatening'; 'we'll break the Palestinians' bones';' or 'we'll pack the Palestinians off to Jordan, if ever they hurt us'.

In the Jewish psyche, there is a lot of anger, overwhelmed by survivors' guilt and completely blinded by a socialization process and a culture that emphasizes survival at any cost. Inadvertently, Israelis can not see their own corruption and guilt. All evil is projected and pasted onto the 'other'. Hence the demonization of the enemy is easily achievable. So long as the 'other' is the demon, we ourselves represent the good; and they, the evil.

The feeling that the whole world is out to destroy us is projected onto the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Jewish education stresses particularism, rather than universality; aggression over humanism. Young Jewish children are drilled in the two thousand years of anti-Semitism, from the Middle Ages and the expulsion from Spain to the pogroms in Czarist Russia. The Massada Complex, when Jews killed their children and wives and then committed suicide to prevent being captured by the Romans, is celebrated annually. 'Massada will not fall again' is analogous with the establishment of the state and the victories against the Arabs in the wars with them. All acts are carried out for survival, be they the destruction of homes, the building of settlements, or the bombings of infrastructure.

Israeli textbooks describe the Arabs and Palestinians in negative terms. Most Israeli textbooks do not mention the existence of Palestinian nationalism or their right to a state. Wars are described as 'Arab aggression'. The events of 1936-1939 are presented as 'riots' by 'Arab gangs'. The 1948 war is depicted as a fight between the 'the great force (Arabs) against the few (Israelis).' The Palestinian refugees left because their leaders told them to, although the Israelis asked them to stay. The Arabs/Palestinians are delegitimized and referred to as a collectivity, and not as individuals.

Two major themes emerge in an analysis of Israeli textbooks: the Arabs are portrayed as barbaric, backwards, dirty, passive, poor, and as vandals. Secondly, they are depicted as violent, brutal, untrustworthy, cruel, fanatical, treacherous and aggressive. By negatively stereotyping the Palestinians, the Israelis are deligitimizing them. (see Daniel Bar-Tal, The Arab Image in Hebrew Textbooks, pp.5-18). Textbooks therefore must be changed because traditionally they have been used to legitimize one's own national identity and deligitimize 'the other'.

The Israeli identity is tethered to power and helplessness. The state of Israel is the answer to the Holocaust. It is only that the Arabs have replaced the Nazis as the enemy. The conflict is another instance in the long history of struggle and defiance in order to exist. Every act of violence is viewed as anti-Semitic, an attempt to destroy the Jews. The struggle, therefore, must be a struggle to the end at whatever price, even though it may entail imprisoning the entire Palestinian population in their homes, under curfew, enforcing poverty upon them or expelling them from their country. The killing and the annihilation of the 'other' is justified for one's own survival.

The Jews believe that they came to 'a land without a people and that they are a people without a land.' Zionists describe their narrative of homeless Jews returning to a deserted land after two thousand years of exile. They redeemed the land, and did not expropriate it from Bedouin tribes. They were the ones who planted trees in this wasteland, making the wilderness bloom, the ones who drained the swamps. This does not bode well with the Palestinians, who claim that the Israelis are intentionally overlooking the Arab olive groves, citrus fruits and vineyards that they found there.

Zionists deny the existence of two parallel national movements that have led to years of conflict. They see the Palestinians as denying the legitimacy of Israel's existence and believe that they should leave and settle in the twenty-two Arab states. Hence, the Jewish/Israeli/Palestinian conflict is reduced to bipolar idioms, 'the wars of the righteous against evil', Holocaust and rebirth, destruction and redemption, the few against the many, and the messianic ideas of the 'ingathering of the '. The creation of Israel gains a metaphysical dimension, and the Palestinian is turned into a demonic creature.

The Palestinians, who themselves have suffered their own Diaspora exile from their land, loss of their homes, the constant fear of dispossession and annihilation also focus their historical narrative on their plight. They depict Israel as a foreign entity in the Middle East, a colonial power that they refuse to acknowledge on their maps. As if by denying it, they can erase it altogether.

Moreover, the Palestinians do not believe that they should pay for Jewish suffering at the hands of the Nazis, and they see themselves as the 'victims of the victims'. How do we transform this hate and antagonism in order to live in peace with one another? How can we stop it from engulfing each generation of our children? How can we prosper and grow and contribute to humanity? Moderate Palestinians and Israelis are asking themselves these questions. I know that I have.

We must look for the humanity in each of us, despite the pain, the bloodshed, and the oppression. We have to search and discover the humaneness in ourselves, and then find the humanism in the 'other'. Thus, by empathizing with the 'other', rather than dwelling on the animosities and thoughts of revenge, we can begin this worthy endeavor of an education for peace by transcending our tragic histories. Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist monk, said: To reconcile conflicting parties, we must have the ability to understand the suffering of both sides. If we take sides, it is impossible to do the work of reconciliation. And human beings want to take sides. That is why the situation gets worse and worse. Are there people who are still available to both sides? They need not do much. They need only one thing: go to one side and tell all about the suffering endured by the other side, and go to the other side and tell all about the suffering endured by this side. That is our chance for peace. That can change the situation. But how many of us are able to do that?

The Palestinians and Israelis must do that. It is imperative that we begin by changing the images we have of one another. The Palestinians see the Israelis as brutal soldiers or aggressive settlers; Palestinians are seen as fanatical terrorists. We need to have humane contact with our enemy, in order to rehumanize the whole group. Jewish students should be taught about Christianity, Islam, the Jewish-Arab conflict and the Arabic language. Palestinian and Arab children should learn about the Holocaust, Judaism and the Hebrew language. Both should emphasize universalism and not particularism in their curriculum.

Religious education can also be used to teach tolerance and encourage co-existence. Both Islam and Judaism are religions of peace. Among the components of peace in Islam and Judaism is the principle of co-existence among nations, which organizes relations with other countries. This can only occur if the two conflicting parties are willing to settle matters of differences, tolerate each other and accept pluralism, and dismiss feelings of exclusivity and dominance. Peace, in Islam and Judaism is security, safety and stability in every aspect of life. Co-existence can only be built upon mutual respect and the acknowledgement of the dignity of men and women.

The eternal struggle to forgive

The act of forgiveness is an important component of peace education. Forgiveness is not just a rite of religious correctness although it is present in most religious teachings, from the Lord's prayer in Christianity to the Buddhist concept of purifying evil.

Forgiveness requires a deep intellectual and emotional commitment. The commitment to forgive requires taking giant strides, the first involving practice and learning. Archbishop Desmond Tutu (the Noble Peace laureate) wrote about reconciliation in Africa. He acknowledged that it can be troublesome and described it in the context of the African concept of 'ubuntu', that a person is only a person through other people.

Forgiveness is an act of self-interest, since those who forgive are freed from the bonds that hold them captive to the forgiver. If you allow yourself to be consumed by rage no matter how terrible the wrong, it is you that has been significantly reduced. But forgiveness has its limitations. You can free yourself of hatred, but still not be able to forgive. 'For there to be true forgiveness, it has to come from both sides.' And forgiveness can be liberating.

One must remember that there is a distinction between seeking forgiveness and offering an apology. Forgiveness, in and of itself requires an act of contrition, asking for forgiveness, opening up oneself to dialogue. Merely saying that you are sorry is shrugging off responsibility. One must also consider the consequences of not forgiving. 'Just because someone has done something to you that you find unforgivable, that in no way justifies you doing the same.'

Forgiveness is a matter of choice, and like grieving is private and cannot be judged by others. Dr. Frederic Luskin, in his book Forgive for God speaks of the physical and emotional benefits of forgiveness. He likens the process of forgiveness to riding a train, with its different stops. One should practice with little steps to reach this high moral ground. You must first learn not to get upset when someone takes your parking space or a sales clerk dawdles. In order for the parties to forgive, they must make peace with their past and believe a greater good than their personal revenge lies ahead.

It is essential that the two parties to the conflict engage in role reversal. This starts with emphasizing the common grounds and affirming the 'otherness of the other'. That is why it is important for Palestinians to learn about the Holocaust, its effects, and its centrality in the lives of Israelis and Jews. The Israelis must understand that the Palestinian sense of identity was also forged in conflict. Israelis must accept the Palestinians as a nation, as a people who are seeking the establishment of their own state. They must stop their actions of destroying that dream by dividing Palestinian territories into cantons, without geographical, social and economic contiguity.

Moreover, Israelis should appreciate the necessity of having a Palestinian state alongside Israel and only then will the history of the Palestinian Diaspora become a reciprocal one to their own.

Both sides must engage in a process of reassessing each other's conflicting histories, and the 'enemy image' they have of each other. They must also understand each other's inequality, be it military, economic or international. Both sides have to assess each other's values and habits of tolerance. They must learn to listen to one another. Feelings of hatred and rage must be worked out in order for both sides to be able to forgive the other and ask for forgiveness, too. Both must learn to engage the 'other', the former enemy, in dialogue. President Jimmy Carter said: 'The most unremitting conflicts of the Middle East are not on the battlefields, but in the minds of the people who live there.'

A transformation on a cultural, ideological level should simultaneously occur. The trauma of fear and hatred should change into one of healing, forgiveness, and mutual acceptance. That is the result of a real reconciliation through peace education.

Elements of an education of peace

In conclusion, the following steps would facilitate an education of peace and reconciliation.

- Understanding the position of the other and the moral right of the other. Accepting the different historical and political narrative of the other. Questioning and evaluating the information to promote understanding.

- Rehumanizing and accepting the humanity of the other. Moving from delegitimation to legitimacy and recognition of the other party. Understanding each other's myths and sufferings and accepting the plurality of others. Emphasizing the values of civility and citizenship.

- Affirming the 'otherness of the other' through dialogue. One must understand and accept 'the collective right of the other'.

- Creating a mutual culture of peace. Introducing and encouraging values, attitudes and practices that reflect respect for fellow human beings and their dignity. The commitment to freedom and justice for all must also be taught, based on acceptance of the principles of existence among nations and people.

- Promoting values of peace through a process of education, service and communication. Learning to seek peaceful resolutions to problems, instilling respect for human rights and democratic principles, and rejecting violence and discrimination.