"Agents of Change" or "Collaborators"? Palestinian Students From East Jerusalem Experiencing an Israeli University

• In Event: Teacher Formation and Practice in Democratic Citizenship Education

Abstract

A qualitative research studying Palestinian students' motivations to study in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and to choose the “Hebrew language for Arab Speakers” teacher-training program, and to examine whether and to what extent they were helped by embracing perceptions of a "hybrid identity" for coping with the challenges provided by the studying experience. The findings indicated that the hybrid identity, characterized by cultural flexibility, enabled a willingness to undergo Israelization processes on the pedagogic, social and economic levels but not on the political level. Teaching and studying Hebrew is considered a central tool for economic integration and inter-cultural daily contact with Israeli-Jews, rather than a contradiction to ethno-national values.

Authors

• Asmahan Masry-Herzallah, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

• Adar Cohen, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem