This study has focused on a particular group of students and professors enrolled in a specific Israeli university in Jerusalem. In the study I have tried to show how past and present in relation to the in- and out-group are presented in the Israeli education system. Moreover, I have explored the social dynamics between students from the two groups of people.
The study suggests that exposure of both the Israeli and Palestinian narratives in the education systems may reduce psychological barriers between Israeli and Palestinian students. However, there are many challenges related to history teaching with a multi-narrative approach.
Findings of this study indicate that the narratives presented in Israeli and Palestinian primary education contribute to a perception of the in-group as victims and “the good side”, and thus a view of the other as “the bad side”. A tendency seems to be that the Israeli primary education emphasizes certain elements in the story of Israel, and excludes other topics from the history teaching, e.g. the time of the Jewish diaspora, and information about the Palestinian
population. By doing so, the Western-Jewish connection to Israel is emphasized, while Jews with origin in Arab and African countries, as well as the Palestinians, seem to be left out of the Israeli master narrative. My assumption is that this is done in order to strengthen the Jewish-Israeli social identity. However, by doing this other identities may be supressed and omitted from the Israeli society. In my opinion, there are reasons to believe that this biased presentation runs the risk of inflaming hostile relations between Israelis and Palestinians. Thus, Jews of Arab and African origin, and Palestinians might experience that they are second-class citizens, and that their identity is not recognized as genuine Israeli. According to the findings, the university presents multiple narratives of past and present in relation to the in- and out-group, compared to what the students were told in the primary education systems. There are factors indicating that the lectures about Israeli and Palestinian past and present are to a certain degree unbiased, offering different narratives. Findings indicate that some Palestinian students use education as a tool to resist the hegemonic Israeli discourse, and thus preserve their Palestinian social identity. The same is to some extent valid for the Israeli students of Arabic origin. This study suggests that history lecturing at the university gives the students opportunity to explore aspects of their background excluded from the Israeli and Palestinian master narratives.
Nevertheless, the findings of this study also show that the university avoids lecturing about conflictual and contested issues connected to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Several factors
indicate that lecturing about the Palestinian narrative is rare at the university. Findings further designate that the university does not privilege the Palestinian narrative, in example providing less academic credits to courses connected to the Palestinian social identity, and by
obstructing Palestinian students to demonstrate against Israeli policy.
The study demonstrates how some students become friends with members of the other group, due to the interaction on campus. Some Palestinian students claimed that the encounters with Israeli students had an empowering dimension, as they got more familiar with the narratives of the other side. According to them, this knowledge strengthened their ability to resist the hegemonic Israeli discourse. Furthermore, the study shows that coexistence with members of the other group is problematic, where racism and prejudices are major challenges. My
research indicates that previous prejudices are sometimes confirmed, and even reinforced due to the encounters. Thus, this study claims that the encounters between Israeli and Palestinian students on campus both reduce and reinforce the psychological barriers between them. As the Israeli-Palestinian conflict involves one occupied part, the Palestinians, and the occupier, Israel, there are many challenges for sustainable dialogues. A premise for a successful Israeli-Palestinian dialogue seems to be that asymmetric power relations, and social and physical barriers are addressed and discussed. Another premise for perceived positive outcomes of dialogue necessarily includes the ability of the dialogue participants to understand and identify with the situation of the other. The example from the dialogue group HRIS ascertains the potential of the university in facilitating successful encounters between Israeli and Palestinian students. Observation of HRIS shows that positive change of behaviour and beliefs about self and other occurs. Yet, the HRIS course represents the exception rather than the rule on campus. Thus, the university has undoubtedly the potential to do more in facilitating sustainable encounters between the Palestinian and Israeli students. In my opinion, this may reduce psychological barriers and improve relations between Palestinian and Israeli individuals. Further it may facilitate positive change at society level since the students can possibly be seen as indicators of the future situation in Israel and Palestine.
7.1 Avenues for further research
As discussed in the methodology chapter, the findings of the study cannot be generalized to the overall Israeli academia. Due to the limitations in the data material and the scope of the study, many questions regarding the social dynamics between Israeli and Palestinian
unanswered. Hopefully other researchers can find this contribution helpful for future attempts of addressing narratives of past and present, and/or social mechanisms between Israeli and Palestinian students. Comparative studies of different universities may perhaps indicate site- specific trends in the Israeli academia. Moreover, larger samples including document analysis of curricula and observations of lectures will add useful information of past and present narratives at Israeli universities. Quantitative studies could be helpful to explore broader trends among Israeli and Palestinian students. A final suggestion might be to compare the perceived perceptions of “the other” among university students and people without higher education. This may possibly provide valuable insight into the effect of higher education in terms of psychological barriers between Israelis and Palestinians.