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The Nakba in Israeli history education: Ethical judgments in an ongoing conflict
By katherine.wallace.20, on 17 December 2024
Micha Perry / IDF Spokesperson’s Unit / CC BY-SA 3.0
Presenters
Dr. Roy Weintraub, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Dr. Lindsay Gibson, University of British Columbia
Date: Tuesday 7th January. Time: 5-6.30pm GMT.
This is an online event. Please register for the zoom link here.
Abstract
In this seminar, we explore the ethical dimension of the most controversial event in Israeli history—the Nakba, meaning “the catastrophe” in Arabic. The Nakba refers to the forced expulsion and displacement of approximately 750,000 Palestinians by Israeli forces during the 1948 War, which led to the destruction of Palestinian society.
This seminar analyzes ethical historical judgments about the Nakba on two dimensions. First, we present key findings from our recently published article on the representation of the Nakba in official educational materials used in two Jewish education systems in Israel. Second, we share preliminary findings from an ongoing studythat investigates how graduates of two Jewish education systems ethically judge the events of the 1948 War and the degree to which their historical ethical judgments have changed in light of the current Israel-Gaza War.
Beyond the significance of the 1948 War and the Nakba to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, this topic serves as a unique case study of the characteristics of historical ethical judgments in the context of a violent and protracted conflict.
