Amichai Tzur

By the end of the 2014/15 programmatic year, Ma'arag- Kol Israel Haverim was already facing the question: Separation or integration? Does the creation of a tapestry of shared existence, the fundamental respect of the Other's identity, have a chance or must we separate?

A Look towards Jerusalem / Naim Araidi
Perhaps we will gather
all the large stones
in the Jerusalem hills.
Perhaps we will build
another Western Wall
another mosque
and another church.
Perhaps
we will forget the errors of the past.
Perhaps
we will at long last build
another city
not in the Jerusalem hills.

We'll call it Jerusalem.
* * *

At the end of the annual summary encounter of the 2014/15 year - whose theme was "Identities in Jerusalem, separation or integration?" - we decided to bring the encounter's focal question into the school world. Are we to construct a new city together, as the poem says? Or are we to unite the city into a single identity? Is there, perhaps, another approach?

During our in-house training for schools, we questioned the place of the Other in Israeli society. We found that the Other holds a central place in the construction of our Jewish and civic identity as individuals and even as a nation. We decided to continue delving into the affinity between the languages of Judaism and of civics, through the analysis of a shared existence here in the state of Israel.

"People are likely to strive towards numerous and diverse purposes and yet remain entirely human, capable of understanding one another and of expressing sympathy towards each other."
Isaiah Berlin

On the Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Day, our schools held a dilemma day – a day to highlight the ability and potential of different people and opinions to live peacefully with their differences.
The topic chosen for in-depth study by the Gefanim School in the Jordan Valley was the Sabbath in the public sphere in a Jewish and democratic state. Students studied the different positions held in the debate on the nature of the Sabbath in our country. The Rishonim Junior High School in Hod HaSharon raised the Syrian refugee dilemma as one involving conflicting values: welcoming guests [Hachnassat Orkhim] versus giving precedence to the poor people in one's own city ['aniey ircha kodmim]. Dealing with the dilemma exposed the complexity involved in maintaining the State of Israel's Jewish identity while fulfilling the state's commitment to universal democratic values. The Beit Yareach High School in the Jordan Valley chose to reflect on the relation between the private and spheres through the eyes of an artist. How does one represent a constructed, resilient and evolving Jewish identity reconciled with a general, humanistic and universal identity in one breath?

From our pupils:

• I learned that it is possible to live in disagreement.
• I should accept the Other’s position even if I do not agree with his opinions.
• Everybody thinks differently and there is no reason to be drawn into violence and murder because of ideas I do not agree with.

“The citizens of Israel, Jewish and democratic Israel, need a wake-up call.”
President Reuven Rivlin

We decided to devote our in-house training for Ma’arag program coordinators to the question of the affinity between Jewish and civic language. The meetings integrated discussions on the relations between the language, study of the complexity of our society in Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, and reflection on our roles in creating a tapestry of shared existence.

Coordinators were each asked to transpose the question of the complexities to be found between Jewish and civic language into a structured discourse in the Teachers Room and the classroom.

Insights shared by the coordinators:

•  We received tools that will help us expand the Jewish-civic identity discourse at school.
•  I have adopted the complexity approach for the intersection of Judaism and civics.
•  I internalized the magnitude of the responsibility we carry in transmitting an approach that integrates the language of Judaism and civics in Israel.
•  The trainng session helped me understand the direct link between the tool and the content, between the Jewish and civic identity discourse and the Ma’arag school product.

“My self-identity is contingent on my dialogical relations with significant others.”
Charles Taylor

Dialogue is a central tool in enhancing identity. Such enhancement is made possible through encounters, observation and discourse with those who are different from us. Peer study events for colleagues from the different Ma’arag program schools are the key to the program success and for deepening the Jewish, Zionist and civic-democratic identity of each school. This year, as in previous years, we will hold two peer study events, one for elementary schools and one for high schools, on the premises of our program alumni schools.

During these encounters questions are raised, connections are made, and world-views are reconsolidated. They create a space within which the shared values and togetherness of Ma’arag are strengthened, on the one hand, while the differences and uniqueness of each individual are empowered. They provide the opportunity for shared discussion of the question of the affinity between the language of Judaism and that of democracy, as tested by a shared existence in Israel, and to grasp how our different schools relate to this issue.

As the year progresses, we will continue to create a shared tapestry through a discourse that clarifies and enhances our Jewish, Zionist, civic and democratic identity, for the sake of a shared and peaceful existence in the State of Israel.