VZCZCXRO5365
RR RUEHROV
DE RUEHTV #1704/01 2200920
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 070920Z AUG 08
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7871
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 001704 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV SOCI IS
SUBJECT: Peace programs in the Ministry of Education 
 
¶1. SUMMARY: On July 29, Poloff met with Anat Zohar, Director of 
Pedagogic Affairs in the Ministry of Education, to discuss efforts 
to build a culture of peace in Israeli schools.  Zohar described 
peace education initiatives as ad hoc and inconsistent, driven by 
principals and NGOs at individual schools.  However, a public 
committee has just formed which aims to review previous efforts and 
develop an effective, strategic plan for teaching tolerance and 
peace.  The new plan will still take a program-based approach, Zohar 
explained, because changing the core curriculum-- and the related 
textbooks-- is time consuming, difficult, and highly politicized. 
As an example, she cited the controversy over a reference to the 
Nakba (the Palestinian term, which means "catastrophe," for the 1948 
Arab-Israeli War) in Israeli textbooks.  End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------- 
Textbooks Are Not the Proper Tool 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶2. Zohar explained that fundamental curriculum changes, and the 
textbooks that are a reflection of this curriculum, are not the best 
way to help establish a culture of peace.  To save money for schools 
and parents, Israeli law only allows textbooks to be revised every 
five years, which effectively limits many changes.  Furthermore, 
Zohar said, when a curriculum is open for revision, the demands for 
additional topics exceed what can be taught in a school year (i.e., 
the Ministry of the Environment wants to add a unit on water 
conservation, while the Finance Ministry wants more emphasis on 
fiscal responsibility, and the Ministry of Justice demands more 
civic education). 
 
¶3. Zohar also pointed out that textbook changes can become 
politicized.  This includes the recent furor over including the 
Palestinian "Nakba" narrative in some textbooks.  Zohar explained 
that they only added two sentences to second, third, and fourth 
grade civics textbooks that say the Palestinians consider Israel's 
independence a catastrophe.  The political right seized upon this as 
a political issue.  She noted that the new textbooks were written 
under the previous, Likud Minister of Education. 
 
¶4.  According to Zohar, there were also complaints when a new school 
atlas indicated the "Green Line," which demarcates the territory in 
the West Bank held by Jordan before 1967. (Note: Some Israeli maps 
refer to this area as "Judea and Samaria" and do not make reference 
to the Green Line; others only show the limits of A and B areas 
under Palestinian administrative control. End Note.)  Zohar 
explained that the Green Line is only included on maps where it is 
necessary, such as maps that show demographics or administrative 
boundaries.  She added that most textbooks only have satellite maps 
to avoid borders, which are a final status issue under negotiation. 
 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
Peace Programs Are Easier and More Effective 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  For these reasons, Zohar said that most peace education in 
schools is done under NGO-led programs that bring Jews and 
Arab-Israelis together.  Recent examples include a course for high 
school teachers on how to encourage mutual understanding, a program 
in the North in which mixed groups of Arab and Jewish students make 
short films that are screened in Haifa, and regular meetings between 
various central-Israel principals to discuss peace-building 
initiatives.  This group of principals, formed shortly after the 
October 2000 riots, develops programs and materials, such as a 
recent Tu B'Shevat Haggadah that included verses on the environment 
from both the Torah nd the Koran. (NOTE: A Haggadah is a book 
containng instructions for a ceremonial meal.  Tu B'Sheva is the 
Jewish "New Year for Trees", observed amng some secular populations 
as an environmental commemoration.  END NOTE). 
 
¶6.  Unfortunately, Zohar said, these programs are ad hoc and 
inconsistently applied.  Usually, a program is proposed to a school 
by an NGO and then funded by the Ministry based on the school's 
request.  As a result, principals and neighborhoods more receptive 
to peace get overrun with programs, while other areas have none at 
all, which Zohar described as focusing on "selling ice to the 
Eskimos." 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
Developing a Comprehensive Approach to Peace Education 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶7.  The Ministry of Education is currently working to develop a more 
comprehensive and unified approach to peace education.  The first 
phase includes developing a database of all programs currently in 
place at various schools.  The Ministry is also reviewing academic 
studies on the most effective approaches to teaching peace.  Some 
studies have shown that holding one or two meetings with Jews and 
Arabs discussing peace has little long-term impact.  However, Zohar 
said, sustained programs geared toward younger children, before 
attitudes are hardened, or toward emphasizing shared interests, such 
as sports teams or hobby clubs, are usually more effective. 
 
 
TEL AVIV 00001704  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶8.  To move forward, the Ministry of Education held a conference of 
academics, educators and NGOs to help develop a more effective and 
strategic approach, and to allow for more efficient distribution of 
resources allotted to peace education.  The conference spawned a 
public committee of experts, which will ultimately make specific 
policy and program recommendations.  Zohar said this committee will 
begin work in the next few weeks, with results expected in about six 
months. 
 
¶9.  Zohar, a political appointee, expressed concern that these 
initiatives would be abandoned when Yuli Tamir (Labor) is no longer 
Minister of Education.  She complained that the professional 
bureaucracy at the Ministry of Education is not empowered enough to 
ensure continuity, which makes real, systematic planning and review 
of their curriculum nearly impossible.  As a cautionary tale, she 
described the "Israel 2008" program, which was launched in 2003 as a 
comprehensive, five-year plan to revamp and modernize Israel's 
curriculum.  In 2007, just as the plan was beginning to take hold 
and show results, Zohar lamented that the entire program was cut for 
budgetary reasons, wasting all the time and money that had already 
been invested.  Zohar felt it was likely that the work of the peace 
education committee would share the same fate in a new government. 
 
MORENO