Teaching a Biblical Text among African Christian and Muslim Asylum-Seeker Children in Israel

Abstract

Educators in Israel face significant school diversity while struggling to adequately respond to the unique needs of diverse national and cultural communities and students from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Bible teachers in elementary school face tensions and conflicts between the religious concepts and beliefs of the parents and the children and the accepted concepts in Israeli Jewish society. This qualitative study was conducted among fifteen teachers working in elementary schools in the country’s center where students from national, religious, social, and social–cultural populations attend, including children from families of asylum seekers. The findings revealed two central tensions: (1) emotional religious tension and (2) pedagogical tension. It was found that Bible teachers play the role of social–religious mediators in Israeli society. In the context of religious tension, teachers find themselves in situations of uncertainty, without the pedagogical skills to help them bridge the gaps and soften the strain. As a result, they are passive and remain silent. On the other hand, in the context of pedagogical tension, the teachers try to take the initiative, go beyond the boundaries of the familiar and known, and try to adapt classroom activities to the culture of the country of origin and the everyday social contexts.

Navigating collaborative learning across national boundaries: a comparative study of educators’ perspectives in Israel and Turkey

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“In the army I’m no longer typecast as the son of migrant workers”: modalities of inclusion and belonging among children of migrant workers in the military in Israel

“…Although they had no civic status, they are eligible to enter the Israeli educational system and do enjoy some social rights. Yet, despite growing up and studying in Israeli schools, absorbing its culture and speaking fluent Hebrew (Eliyahu-Levi and Ganz-Meishar, 2016;Winer et al, 2021;Tannenbaum and Stern, 2022), their children are pushed to the margins of society. They suffer from various forms of formal and informal discrimination, are not eligible for civic status and become candidates for deportation (Willen, 2005;Sabar and Gez, 2009).…”

The Vatican-Al-Azhar Dialogues: Implications for Socioeconomic Empowerment in Muslim-Christian Interactions

“…Lindsay et al (2023) stated that Interreligious discussion is often characterised as a "circle of the convinced," as expressed by interfaith dialogue affiliated with Religions for Peace (Lindsay, 2023). Whereas, Eliyahu-Levi et al (2023) found that the choice made by Teacher C. to withhold information from others serves as evidence that the school system lacks a pedagogical approach to addressing teaching in heterogeneous environments, instead choosing to disregard or deny the existence of any issues (Eliyahu-Levi & Ganz-Meishar, 2023). The Vatican-Al-Azhar Dialogues represent a pioneering project that unites two globally significant religious organisations, namely the Holy See and Al-Azhar University.…”