Sources of Hope: Enhancing Peace Education in Higher Education. A Case Study from Israel

Abstract

1 Studying how to deal with stereotypes
and discrimination in a time of terror and
despair: Theory and practice
This contribution aims at exploring how Palestinian
Arab and Jewish university students in Israel,
attending a course on conflict resolution, deal
with their stereotypical views of the Other and
their prejudices, as well as their complex emotions
of fear, hate, anxiety, and love. On the one hand,
they have a natural desire for professional partnership
and friendship with their fellow students.
On the other hand, they are attending this class in
a Jewish university, in the heart of the Middle
East, where acts of terrorism occur almost daily.
This violence changes the power structure and
the dynamics of their mutual relationships. For
most of them, this is the first time they have an
unmediated interaction with the Other and this
encounter is completely new for them. As well,
they did not have any prior preparation for this
challenging situation. This article analyzes how the activities entailed
in conflict resolution – which begins as a planned,
artificial and enforced process – is transformed
into a personal journey in which the students
get to know their individual and collective
»self«, as well as the Other. It argues that management
of the conflict can be perceived as a moral
journey. More specifically, the research will focus
on the conceptualization of the feelings, complicated
experiences, and the way in which these
students are required to confront the question of
their authenticity.