09.11.2018
Modul Content "Education in the Middle East Conflict"
We thank the staff of the German Desk of Yad Vashem, who introduced us to the concepts of cognitive empathy and pedagogical work against mnemozide in workshops.
by "school is open" 4.0 | Laura Franke and Silke Bettina Kargl
Under the vision "Discover Inclusion and Diversity", the following three digital learning modules will provide inclusive and diverse approaches to Judaism, Jews, Israel and the Middle East conflict. We want to turn rhetoric into action by showing alternative options for actions and interventions to end anti-Semitism. This concern can most likely take place in a cross-disciplinary teaching practice that incorporates the insights and demands of pedagogy, political science, sociology, Jewish studies, linguistics, religious studies and philosophy, history, geography, as well as international law and other disciplines.
Module 1 "History of the Jews"
Module 1 "History of the Jews" offers students the opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills on Jewish life before, during and after the Shoah. The module centres on the stories of specific individuals in which historical-social processes become visible and comprehensible. Courses of life and identity experiences of Jews in the context of culture and religion are shown. Individual stories allow low-threshold access to complex phenomena and promote cognitive empathy. It is about the multi-perspectivity of Jewish life designs.
The module highlights experiences of expulsion and the development of Jewish life in the Diaspora. The methodical handling of the Shoah can be deepened through focusing on individual fates within the module. The naming of names and the portrayal of life stories in all facets of European Jews thus prevent the mnemozide, the "memory murder" of European Jewry. Contemporary Jewish biographies are also linked to the state of Israel. The module shows connecting lines of Jews between Cologne, Germany and Israel.
Module 2 "(Israel-Related) Anti-Semitism"
Module 2 "(Israel-Related) Anti-Semitism" includes learning about anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism describes "a certain perception of Jews that can express hatred for Jews" and manifest rhetorically and physically (IHRA). Affected are Jewish, as well as non-Jewish individuals, their property and / or Jewish institutions. The knowledge component includes the genesis of the term at the end of the 19th century in Germany as well as its establishment as a cultural code (Volkov 2000). In the module imparts anti-Semitism as a cultural code that always goes hand in hand with an anti-democratic, anti-modern, anti-emancipatory worldview.
In the module, students acquire competences that identify and differentiate between different forms of anti-Semitism. Particular attention is paid to Israel related anti-Semitism, as it sometimes occurs as the most virulent and discussed form. This also shows the continuing transformation of anti-Semitism: anti-Semitic stereotypes based on fantasies are projected onto the state of Israel and its inhabitants (Schwarz-Friesel 2018). This "detour communication" makes it possible to escape the accusation of anti-Semitism (Schwarz-Friesel / Reinharz 2013).
To counteract hostility towards Jews and to develop further successful ideas in dealing with Judaism, the state of Israel and Jewish people, it does not help to deal with the supposed collective of "the Jews". The reflection on one's own origin, the individual genesis of knowledge about Judaism, Jews and Israel as well as the previous subjective reactions and interventions seem appropriate. Finally, the module aims to enable students to act and intervene in pedagogical contexts by including pedagogical and methodological guidelines.
To counteract hostility to the Jews and to develop other successful ideas in dealing with Judaism, the state of Israel and Jewish people does not help to deal with the supposed collective of "the Jews". The reflection on one's own origin, the individual genesis of knowledge about Judaism, Jews and Israel as well as the previous subjective reactions and interventions seem appropriate. Finally, the module aims to enable students to act and intervene in pedagogical contexts by including pedagogical and methodological guidelines.
Module 3 "Israel as a democratic state in the Middle East"
Module 3 "Israel as a democratic state in the Middle East" includes knowledge about the emergence of the state of Israel and a reflective understanding of the Jewish state in its democratic structure. Israel is the geographical interface between Europe, Asia and Africa and characterized by sea, desert and sun. The state of Israel has a relatively short, but even more complex history. Experience reports from Jewish life plans convey Biblical foundation elements of the state of Israel and the Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria and the Roman and later Ottoman province of Palestine for 2000 years (DIG & SPMEG). They refer to "Eretz Israel", the land of Israel. These ideas emerge in the nation-state movement of Zionism. At the end of the 19th century, the goal was to create a safe home for the Jews threatened by persecution. The turning point of the Shoah made the creation of a Jewish state all the more urgent - Israel did not arise because of, but in spite of the Shoah. The existence of Israel has been under threat of annihilation since independence in 1948, reflecting numerous wars and everyday terror.
Moreover, Israel is characterized by mobility and diversity. Israel is an immigration country (Lotem & Seitz 2013): Jews from different parts of the world want to live in Israel - they make aliyah. Names such as Ashkenazim, Sephardim / Mizrachim or Jeckes are indications of their origin. Recent immigration movements allow Jews from Ethiopia or Yemen to live safely in Israel. Non-Jewish people from Sub-Saharan territories are also fleeing to Israel. State and civil society actors in Israeli society, such as schools or scout groups, develop strategies for dealing with diversity. Coexistence is an approach and means successful coexistence with Arabs, Muslim and Christian believers as well as minorities like Druze or Bedouin.
The omnipresent threat situation for the state of Israel shows itself in the contention with the Middle East conflict. The module aims to empower students to understand the Middle East conflict in its genesis and complexity. This includes knowledge of entanglements, collaborations and resistance activities of various actors in the region during World War II. It also includes a presentation of the UN partition plan into a Jewish and an Arab / Palestinian state of 1947 as well as its rejection by the Arab side. Followed by the expulsion of Jewish residents from the Arab states as well as the call of Arab leaders to leave the British Mandate territory to the Arab population (DIG & SPMEG). It can be spoken of a population exchange, which was also seen in other founding processes of nation states. Current developments in the Middle East under critical consideration of the various actors such as the Islamist Iranian regime (Grigat 2017) or the Muslim Brotherhood (Küntzel 2003) are part of the module. The goal is for students to use their skills in the Middle East conflict in pedagogical situations, so that students can develop a reflexive understanding of the Middle East conflict.
References
Deutsch-Israelische Gesellschaft und Scholars for Peace in Middle East, Germany (DIG & SPMEG) (Hrsg.). Ohne Jahr. Oldenburg.
International Holocaust Rememberance Alliance (IHRA). 2016. Arbeitsdefinition von Antisemitismus. Online abrufbar unter: https://www.holocaustremembrance.com/de/node/196?focus=antisemitismandholocaustdenial (letzter Aufruf am: 09.11.2018).
Grigat, Stephan (Hrsg.). 2017. Iran – Israel – Deutschland. Antisemitismus, Außenhandel und Atomprogramm. Berlin: Hentrich & Hentrich.
Küntzel, Matthias. 2003. Djihad und Judenhaß. Über den neuen antijüdischen Krieg. Berlin: ça ira.
Lotem, Itay; Seitz, Judith. ConAct (Hrsg.). 2013. Israel – Nah im Osten. Bonn: bpb.
Schwarz-Friesel, Monika; Reinharz, Jehuda. 2013. Die Sprache der Judenfeindschaft im 21. Jahrhundert. Berlin: De Gruyter.
Schwarz-Friesel, Monika. 2018. Die Menschheit hat nach Auschwitz nichts gelernt. Interview von Vanessa Gaigg und Oona Kroisleitner. In: Der Standard. Online abrufbar unter: https://derstandard.at/2000074678346/Die-Menschheit-hat-nach-Auschwitz-nichts-gelernt (letzter Aufruf am: 09.11.2018).
Volkov, Shulamit. 2000. Antisemitismus als kultureller Code. Zehn Essays. München: C.H.Beck.
Yad Vashem. Ohne Jahr. Pädagogisches Konzept. Online abrufbar unter: https://www.yadvashem.org/de/education/about-school/pedagogic-concept.html (letzter Aufruf am: 09.11.2018).
Download here
