Bringing Arabs and Jews Together In the Shadow of Hilles Library

Twenty five Jewish and Arab Israeli educators are completing the Harvard International Education Seminar this week after a month studying issues in American education.

The program, which is unique in composition, is in its second summer of existence. Participants come from all of Israel's regions and educational strata; there are university professors and elementary school teachers.

Last week, the director of the seminar, Shimon Chasdi, and three members of the group, discussed the origins of the program and their experiences in America.

The idea for the seminar originated three years ago, Chasdi, explained, when he and Donald W. Oliver, professor of Education, taught a course on "Community and Education." The students spent one month studying at Harvard and another in Israel touring Jewish and Arab communities. Chasdi laughs as he recalls the reaction of Israeli educators. "'This is all fine and dandy,' they'd say, 'But when do we get to go to America?'"

Dorith Ortal, a high school inspector for the Ministry of Education in Tel Aviv, was impressed by the relaxed atmosphere in American schools, particularly in the open classrooms the group visited in Brookline. "To have 200 kids in an open space, each of them studying something different, would be impossible in Israel. Israelis are always sticking their nose into each other's business." She laughs. "Perhaps we need Lebensraum."

Avner Rothenberg, director of social education in Jerusalem, traces the problem to the structure of Israeli education, which is styled on the European model of a highly centralized system, with all control in the Ministry of Education. Elias Saba, senior lecturer at the Arab Teachers' College in Haifa, found the American contrast agreeable.

"Teachers here are more involved in curriculum planning. Each school decides its own topics, and as a result, the teacher becomes more aware of the methods of teaching."

Arabs and Jews attend separate schools in Israel, and it is unlikely that the situation will change. But even among Jews there are divisions--those who settled in Palestine before the establishment of the state in 1948, the Oriental Jews, and the Eastern European Jews, each forming a distinct socio-economic caste. The problem of integrating these groups pales, however, in the face of the Boston school situation. "We now know," Orthal says, "that our problems are not that bad. Remember, we have Jews from 72 nations--but we are all Jews."

Rothenberg is equally optimistic about Jewish society in Israel. "Within two or three generations you will see intermarriage between European and Oriental Jews. Remember that we are much younger than you are --it is necessary to understand that these processes are long, and we are a young country..." But he sees no end to the separation of Arabs and Jews. "Living within one nation we are two separate nations of Arabs and Jews."

Chasdi traces the legacy of segregation to historical circumstances. "When Palestine was under Turkish control, Arabs and Jews were separated. That continued through the British mandate and the establishment of the state." It is unlikely to change in the future, but, he adds, "We do have a desire to work closer together--that's one of the goals of this program." He points to the teaching of Arabic in Jewish schools and of Hebrew in Arab schools as signs of rapprochment.

During his stay in America, Rothenberg was struck by a lack of vitality among American Jews, a problem he says exists in Israel as well. "It is hard to survive as a Jew in a time when Jewish traditions and symbols are not so strong. A big section of Israel is just Jewish, without any strong commitment to the religion."

'It is not easy to be 'just' a Jew, "Ortal notes wryly.

"What has held Jews together for a long time," Rothenberg continues, "and what holds them together now is danger. But I don't see new Jewish leadership emerging here, or in Israel."

Chasdi suggests to Rothenberg that his perspective is limited "to the people that you've met here,... It is important for Jews to establish links with their historical tradition, and Israel serves that function. I would say that the vitality of American Jewry is closely related to the state of Israel."

Rothenberg presses his point. "I feel a great tie between me and him"--pointing to this reporter--"simply because he is Jewish. It's a bond I don't feel with him"--pointing to Saba.

"But Arabs are a part of Israel," Chasdi says.

"Yes, and as such I feel the bonds between members of the same country. But between Jews there is something special. In order to survive, for generations, we had to hold on to each other. And I am worried because, philosophically, there is no renovating force in Judaism, such as Hassidism once was."

The group spent a day touring the Phillips Academy at Andover and was overwhelmed by its opulence. "I suppose my 'proletarian sense' was aroused a bit, and it did make me think about unequal social conditions. But," Rothenberg says smilingly, "the kids are so nice and the place is so beautiful, it is hard to feel anything but pleasure."

Ortal concurred. "The kids here are so clever--much more so than the teachers--that I think not even the Phillips Academy can do them any harm."

Saba celebrates the good feelings among members of the program. "On the plane coming over here," he recalls, "no one knew anyone else, and hardly anyone spoke to each other. Now we leave with a very friendly feeling."

But those people living at Currier House, where the group is staying, notice that there are limits to that friendship. As in past years, members of the group have tended to subdivide into ethnic sects--European Jews stay with European Jews, Oriental Jews with Oriental Jews, and Arabs with Arabs. Particularly poignant was the scene at Currier House the day after the Israeli raid on Entebbe, according to those present. Jews embraced each other jo yously, while the Arabs sat together silently, nervously.

Undoubtedly, when the educators return home next week, the dangers of living in Israel will weigh upon them constantly and remind them that there are "two separate nations of Arabs and Jews." But for a month at least, they are able to leave their worries behind. "Our hosts paid attention to every detail," Rothenberg says. "We were treated like kings."

"... I feel the bonds between members of the same country. But between Jews there is something special. In order to survive, for generations, we had to hold on to each other..."