2015 Israel

Arabische und jüdische Kinder gemeinsam  im Klassenzimmer

Interview mit Noa Yammer von der Max Rayne Hand in Hand School in Jerusalem

Im Rahmen einer Exkursion zum Seminar „Das Bildungswesen Israels und seine Geschichte“ besuchte eine Gruppe von Lehramtsstudierenden der Universität Kassel im April 2014 die

„Max Rayne Hand in Hand Schule“ im Süden Jerusalems. Diese Schule ist Teil eines Netzwerks von fünf integrativen bilingualen Schulen in Israel. Dort lernen muslimische, jüdische und christliche Schülerinnen und Schüler gemeinsam auf Hebräisch und Arabisch. Im folgenden Interview berichtet Schuladministratorin, Noa Yammer, vom Schulalltag an der jüdisch‐ arabischen Schule, den pädagogischen Herausforderungen und den zukünftigen Zielen der Hand‐in­Hand‐Bewegung in Israel. Die Fragen stellte Jakob Baier, Lehrbeauftragter und wiss. Hilfskraft im Fachgebiet Historische Bildungsforschung, Institut für Erziehungswissenschaft, der Universität Kassel.

In which way is everyday school life at the Hand in Hand School different to the routine of other secular schools in Israel?

This school is very different than most other schools in Israel, because the way the system works in Israel is that there are separate tracks for different kinds of schools, which share a different community. That means that  there  are  completely  separate  curricula,  holidays  and  schedules  for Arab schools and for Jewish  schools. And even in the  Jewish track of schools,  there are different schools that also have different curricula based on the religious affiliation. There are different ultra-­ orthodox schools and different secular schools. Our school is a Jewish-­‐Arab school, a bilingual school with Hebrew and Arabic, celebrating Muslim, Jewish and Christian holidays as well as national days for Israelis and Palestinians. So in that way, our school is extraordinarily different than the school tracks that exist in Israel. 

Can you describe the social background of the students at your school?

The kids at our school are exposed to people who are coming from a different  background – ethnically, religiously, and culturally. There  are  Jews  and  Arabs,  most  of  whom  identify  as Palestinians. Many of them are citizens of Israel, some of them are not – they just have a residence of Jerusalem. The majority of the Arab students are Muslim, around 20% of them are Christian. And there are Jewish Israelis, who also come from different backgrounds such as Ethiopian, European and American. Also the economic background of the students is pretty diverse. There are many middle class kids or even some upper middle class children, but there also kids that are coming from a lower economic  background,  for  example  from  East  Jerusalem  or  certain  parts  of  West  Jerusalem.  The school costs money – about a 1.000€ a year – but we have scholarships for these students. But on the whole, the majority of our kids do not come from a lower economic background.

How does the scholarship system at your school work? Who pays for the scholar ships?

The scholar ships are mostly money that comes from fundraising. There are people from around the world, like the United States or Europe, who want to contribute and help us to make sure that our schools are accessible to anybody who wants to join.

What challenges are you facing during you daily routine?

There are many challenges. Some challenges just have to do with regular school day to day work, such as having a lack of space, resources or time to do everything that we are trying to do. These are challenges that maybe other schools are also facing. At the same time, there are challenges that are unique, because we are trying to create a system that does not exist in other places. An example of that would be the national days last month. These are the times that really bring out the differences between Jews and Arabs, between Israelis and Palestinians. Every year, our challenge is a huge one: How do we mark this occasion? How do we speak about it? How do we help Jewish Israeli kids to feel strongly about their own identity and about where they live, but still very much honor and respect the Palestinian narrative and put them on an equal footing? That is a huge challenge, but it is just one example of the challenges we are facing.

One part of the cultural coexistence and cultural understanding is the celebration of both Israeli and Palestinian holidays and memorial days. In the case of the Israeli Independence Day that could lead to tension, since Palestinians who were displaced during and after the Independence War in 1948. Therefore, Palestinians call the Israeli Independence Day “Nakba”, which means ‘disaster’. How do you deal with this kind of cultural contradiction?

Well, it is really difficult and I do not know if we have found the perfect solution. It is something we work out every year. We invite the parents, the teachers and the educators at our school to come and talk about it and decide: How are we going to mark these days this year? What are the issues that come up? So, our approach is to be constantly reflective and think of new ways, in which we can teach about these days. Our basic approach to everything is: Let’s put it on a table! Let’s talk about it! It is not to hide away, it is not to create a bubble and it is not to say: “History doesn’t matter, let’s start from now” Our history does matter and it is really important. We are very different, we see history very differently and that is because of where we come from, so Let’s talk about it. and Let’s talk about it why it’s hard. Sometimes we get into arguments and sometimes also our teachers have a hard time, because they teach in pairs, one Jewish and one Arab teacher. So specifically concerning