New research conducted by the Faculty of Education of the University of Haifa reveals that the educational programs for peace that Jewish and Arab youth experience do not change their central beliefs relating to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; they only effect their marginal beliefs. The research also reveals that these changes are short-lived, unless the educational programs are ongoing. "Effecting change in central beliefs requires widespread social and environmental changes. Educational programs have very limited effects without political-social support," explains Dr. Yigal Rosen who conducted the research.
Over 1,000 Jewish and Arab students, ages 15-16 who participated in educational programs for peace for seven months were evaluated as part of the study, which examined whether these programs have any effect on the students' basic understandings about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and whether their effects stand the test of time. In the first part of the study, the students were asked to rank a list of statements relating to the conflict, enabling definition of their basic and marginal understandings.
Statements such as: "the Palestinians are natives of this land and they therefore aspire to a state of their own," " 1948 marked the beginning of a long series of events during which the Palestinians lost their land, homes and property and became refugees," "the right of the Palestinians to self- determination is based on UN resolutions and international recognition," were ranked as central to the Palestinian nationalist story. The statements: "dishonesty has always characterized the Jews" and "human life is not important to the Jews," were ranked as marginal understandings.
The students ranked the statements: "Jews have a historic right to the land," "the Jewish people suffered greatly during the Holocaust and therefore the world recognized their right to establish the State of Israel," "the Balfour Declaration afforded the Jews international consent to establish the State of Israel," as central to the Jewish-nationalist story. The statements: "the Arab demonstrations in October 2000 reinforced the feeling that you can't trust them," "the Arabs have always aspired to expel the Jews from Israel," were ranked as marginal.
The research found that the only changes after seven months of participation in the program were in the students' marginal understandings. No change was registered in the central understandings. The students were questioned again two months after the end of the program and the results showed a return to the understandings held before their participation in the program. Among a small group of the students who participated in a second two-month program, the changes in their understandings lasted longer and actually strengthened over time.
"In order to bring about significant change in the youths' perceptions, major social changes need to take place. If an atmosphere of conflict continues between the two peoples, the students will continue to be exposed to an environment that does not support their new perceptions. The change in understandings they adopt during the educational programming will disappear in a short time and the country's youth will return to the same old understandings and stereotypes. The educational program for peace cannot be an island in the social climate. If this is the case, the influence of the program is very limited, disappearing totally in a few months," stressed Dr. Rosen.