Building a Sense of Interbeing for Peace in Bilingual Schools in Israel: A Vital Life Approach

• In Event: A Vital Life Force Approach to Reanimate Nature and to Build Equality and Respect Among All People

Abstract

Objectives or purposes

In this paper, we examine how a sense of interbeing is being cultivated in bilingual schools for Jews and Arabs in Israel. The schools demonstrate that interbeing can be cultivated and experienced (Bai et al., 2009), and that we can learn to live together peacefully when our vital life force, e.g., our energy, life, and aspirations, merge to generate a new field of education that bond peoples’ hearts and minds together.

Perspective(s) or theoretical framework

Jewish and Arab. Israel and Palestine. Throughout the world, these pairs of words are associated with seemingly irresolvable difference or conflicts. The separation of cultures extends even to the Israeli state school system; the vast majority of students attend de facto segregated local schools that are primarily for Jewish or Arab students because their neighborhoods also are separate.

But signs of hope for the educational system – and in a much larger sense, for peace in the region -- do exist: a small, yet growing, number of bilingual schools in Israel provide a more equal learning experience for Arab and Jewish students. Pupils learn in both Arabic and Hebrew, and discover the history, literature, and traditions of both the Palestinian and Israeli cultures together. Students in bilingual schools can see people like themselves as there are equal numbers of Arab and Jewish teaching staff and administrators. The inclusive culture breeds the possibility of people from different cultures working together.

We use a vital life approach to understand the effectiveness of these schools. We use Bai et al.’s (2009) theory to argue the bilingual schools successfully create a sense of interbeing amongst Arabs and Jews, allowing all involved to experience Indwelling the body becoming aware of each other as persons; Indwelling the senses and emotions seeing each other and feeling the emotions of the other; and Indwelling the interpersonal relationship as genuine dialogues take place among the groups. By joining their vital life energy together, channels are opened up for oppositional groups to “sense” each other’s emotions and share love and care as well as life’s sufferings and frustrations.

Methods, data sources, and modes of inquiry

Our in-depth study of bilingual schools in Israel includes original resources regarding the context of Jewish-Arab tension and endeavors to create peace. Using varied primary and secondary sources, we collect information from teachers and students who have been transformed by the culture of bilingual schools. We apply the theoretical framework of Vital Life Force, that is, the energy that propels our life, to examine a new learning environment that connects students, teachers, administrators and communities in body, mind, heart and spirit.

Scholarly significance of the study

How can we have peace in the world? How can we effectively build peace through education? This paper provides insights on the possibility of school as a wellspring of creative peace education. Connection with others at the existential level, being immersed in each other’s energy and spirit, is the key for peaceful co-existence.

Authors

• Denise McHugh, University of Maryland

• Jing Lin, University of Maryland - College Park