At the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jewish and Arab students frequently cross paths with ample opportunity to talk about the conflict, but rarely talking about it with each other.
By GUY GORENARAB STUDENTS on the Hebrew University campus protest conscription for Christian and Druse citizens last month.(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
The Mount Scopus campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, overlooking the capital city, is a microcosm of Israel – boasting a diverse student body. Most importantly, it has Jewish and Arab students from various parts of the country. Yet discussions with them show that most students prefer to insulate themselves; many describe an environment of self-segregation and there is a noticeable lack of discourse regarding the conflict, even though it is present in their everyday lives. They stick to their respective groups and rarely reach out of isolated social circles. There are gaps in culture, age and life experiences – Israeli Jews on average enter university later, after their army service and world travel; Arab students, without having to serve in the army or national service, usually enter at the age of 18. It is easy to understand why the two groups naturally gravitate to their own. Approximately 12 percent of the university’s student population is Arab. “In all, concerning daily socializing, there is a clear separation between the two groups,” says Dan Eran, 25, a Jewish student studying international relations, and adds he has “next to no relations with anyone who is Arab on campus.”Mor Avisror, 23. an education student, says that while she interacts with Arab students on a daily basis, the relationships tend to be superficial. “It really bothers me that I study with Arab students every day, but I have never had a real conversation with an Arab student. I don’t have any real connection with them.”Eran and Avisror say that they are both eager to hear and learn about the lives and opinions of the Arab students who study with them, but with that in mind they say, “It just does not happen.”Furthermore, on the whole it appears that Arab students speak up far less than their Jewish counterparts during lectures, especially on political issues.IT’S HARD to tell at first sight that 21-year-old Aadila (who declined to use her real name) is an Arab student from the Shuafat neighborhood in northeastern Jerusalem. Aadila describes her wardrobe as modern, compared to some of her religious friends, who wear more traditional garb. In her final year of university, Aadila is one of only two Arab students in her class.“In 95% of the lectures I’m alone. I do not speak to Jewish students and they don’t speak to me. We only smile at each other.”As an international relations student, Aadila often finds herself physically present, but vocally passive in political discussions.During Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012, students dealt with the legality of military actions during wartime in their international law class.“The atmosphere was really tense at the time. Each and every lesson had something to do with the war,” she recalls.“In the last 10 minutes of the lecture, the professor discussed the consequences of the death of Hamas armed-wing Izzadin Kassam Brigades commander Ahmed Jabari, by a targeted Israeli airstrike. One of the students stood up and said: ‘Let the IDF win! We need to kill them all!’” Aadila rushed home at the end of the lesson.“I couldn’t stay. Politics were everywhere and I just wanted to run away from it all,” she says.Aadila describes herself as having solid political ideals, taking part in demonstrations and political activities. Yet when she finds herself in conflict with what is said in class, she never takes part. Even after she improved her Hebrew through compulsory language lessons at the university and through a job at the Justice Ministry, she still feels insecure speaking during lectures.“I believe that when I was in my first year, and I felt insecure with my Hebrew abilities, I learned to become a silent participator, and therefore that is what I am today.”She says that she cannot hold a full conversation in Hebrew.“I assume that my opinions are totally different to those who study with me. Of course there are some people who will never accept what I have to say. I don’t believe that anything I have to say can make any difference.”Prof. Zohar Kampf, a lecturer and researcher in the Media and Journalism Department, agrees that there is an all-encompassing silence enveloping political issues in lectures.“I can barely recall an example in which one of my Arab students expressed their opinion during class, though some of the notions and ideas in my lectures are explosive,” he says.In one of his lectures, “The shifting coverage of the war on terror,” politics are inevitable.“The ideas and opinions in this particular class are difficult to swallow, for both Arabs and Jews,” he emphasizes.Despite that, none of his Arab students participated in the discussions. Kampf remembers one Arab student in particular, who attended every single one of his classes, but only expressed his ideas in private conversation.According to Kampf the situation remains the same as students climb up the academic ladder toward their doctorate.“A couple of years ago, I did my PhD at the same time as an Arab friend in the department.Though we were good friends, he had never revealed his political opinions to me.”It was only after a while, when the two of them went out to eat, that he told Kampf he was a Hezbollah supporter.MUAYYAD (not his real name), 24, a political science student from Isawiya, lives an estimated eight minute walk from the Hebrew University. According to him, the fact that the average age of the Arab students is lower than that of the Jewish students is another reason for the lack of Arab participation in lectures.“The Arab students come to the university straight from their villages without traveling the world, serving in the army and other influential experiences that the Jewish students have been through.”Muayyad says that the gaps between the two populations are huge, and this caused him to refrain from speaking during lectures during his first years at the university.“I was afraid I would be mocked if I spoke my mind,” he says, reflecting on his first three years.“But things changed,” Muayyad adds, and says he remembers exactly when he felt a shift to become more outspoken.“A student had spoken out against the Arabs in one of my lectures. Generally, [the student] said that [Arabs] have a lot of power in the country, and that this situation has to stop.”Muayyad felt he had to respond.“It drove me crazy, because if you look at various examples you can see that we do not possess any power at all. From that moment on, I started to speak my mind in lectures, and I would like to thank this student.”Muayyad says he has lots of Jewish friends at the university.“I have been to their homes and they hosted me at their Hanukka celebrations. There are some incredible people here. It is the media that cause all of the problems.A human being is just a human being.”Muayyad knows, however, that he is a rare case among the Arab students, and he discusses the matter frequently with his friends. According to him, they do not participate in class due to of their status in Israeli society.“They are afraid that the whole auditorium will explode on them the moment they speak, just as it did to me.”Avisror, the Jewish education student, adds that “as the days go by, it seems that my fellow Arab students reduce their attendance in class.”This, together with other difficulties, such as the language barrier, forces Arab students to drop out or to lengthen their degree. For example, Muayyad is currently doing his fifth year instead of third. Aadila plans to finish her degree in three years, however she knows that she is unusual in this.“There are no Arab students who finish their degrees in three years,” she claims. Statistics from the Council of Higher Education appear to support this. In a particular graduation year, the number of Arab students that receive their degree is greater than the number that enrolled as freshmen three years previously, showing that it is taking them longer.Noticing this trend, the Dean of Students office began to offer services to help Arab students better integrate.Beginning a few years ago, there is academic tutoring, social mentoring, English courses, individual counseling and workshops.“The Arab Students Equality Program was established with the understanding that acceptance to a university is only the first hurdle,” Prof. Udi Shavit, dean of students at the university, wrote in an email to The Jerusalem Post.“The program aims to respond to the unique needs of Arab students and help them reach the finish line successfully.”Shavit says the program’s success is measured by the fact that 60% of the Arab student population takes advantage of these services, which helps students navigate social, economic and cultural differences on campus.Because of this program, religious considerations such as holidays and fast days were incorporated into Academic Board deadlines and the university has a mosque accessible to students. Shavit adds that the university website has been translated into Arabic to better accommodate students. In depth studies have yet to be done to measure the ultimate successes and drawbacks of the program.The organization does not take on the responsibility of encouraging students to become active on campus, Shavit says, but social mentors try to “reduce the sense of alienation of [Arab] students on campus, and encourage them to overcome the language barrier.”How does the university take into account that for many students this is their first interaction with “the other?” “The university encourages encounters and dialogue projects,” Shavit says. “It has the Unit for Social Involvement and similar initiatives are also held at the Student Union and various faculties.”RAMI JAMIL, 24, is an accounting student and one of five Arabs in the student union of the Hebrew University. The union has around 88 members. Representation on the student union reflects the demographic of the various departments, and not the population of the campus as a whole, presenting a challenge to provide adequate services for Arab students in the realms of academic, cultural and social welfare. “Most of the Arab students do not know what the student union does or how much influence it has. There are even some who do not know what it is,” he explains.Most Jewish students are members of student organizations affiliated with Israeli political parties, such as Likud and Labor. This reflects on the student union’s activity, and on the entire atmosphere on campus, Jamil says. “The majority of the student union is made up of students who belong to some political organization.” For business school representatives which Jamil is part of, they “signed an agreement not to do so. We try to promote matters which relate to us.”Concerning Arab students, there are many issues that Jamil would like to promote, but feels powerless as an Arab representative and therefore “does not even try.”Jamil posits that the Arab students do not trust the student union. Instead, they turn to other organizations, such as Watan, of which both Muayyad and Aadila are members. Watan’s activities and goals are mainly social, although a couple of its members arranged “Israeli Apartheid Week” at the university and have been active in other demonstrations that have taken on an aggressive and violent atmosphere in recent months.Last month, the nationalist movement Im Tirtzu staged a counter protest to a demonstration that was against Druse-Christian enlistment in the IDF. Demonstrators from Im Tirtzu shouted, “You support terrorists,” “We’re not leaving here,” and “Go and study in Ramallah,” reported in an article in the Post.Aadila also recounts that a few members of this organization had shouted at her and her friends during a previous and unrelated demonstration: “‘Why are you here? Study in Ramallah and Gaza!’” “I live a five-minute walk away from this university. Why should I study in Ramallah?” she counters.The last few months have seen a surprising uptick in the ferocity of the protests.In previous years, there were few and usually silent demonstrations organized by Arab students.In an email to the Post, head of Im Tirtzu Tom Nisani says that the counter demonstration that took place was “mature, responsible and without any unusual events.” He did not provide a comment about the counter-demonstration of the issue of minority enlistment. He continued that the organization operates with the goal of integrating minorities into Israeli society, for those who want to “bind their lot with the Jewish people, as part of a Jewish and democratic state.” He did say that at a “Nakba Day” event – on which Im Tirtzu held a counter-demonstration because, he says, Nakba Day rejects the State of Israel and encourages dodging the army – members of the organization were harassed by students, being cursed and given the middle finger and yelling, “Zionists out, Arabs only!” HOWEVER, THE university is investing in its Arab students, Jamil says. “Special programs, such as the ‘Arab Students Equality Program’ are blessed activities, but there is more to be done.“Lack of trust or information leads Arab students not to elect union representatives, but even if they did it would not make any difference,” he believes.Over the years, there were several nominations of candidates who were members of Arab student organizations, “but usually there are more Jews in each department, so they could not be elected.”“There is a long way to go to make serious progress,” Giyora Wahle, the head of the Student Union, wrote in an email to the Post. “In the beginning of each year of operation, we conduct focus groups to adapt the work program [to help coordinate with] the Association of Arab Students.”In response to the violence – verbal and physical – taking place at demonstrations and protests on campus, Wahle says this is also a challenge needing a long-term solution. “We were all witness to the example of the complex relations between Arab students and the university establishment,” Wahle says in reference to violent protests and demonstrations that took place on Mount Scopus last month.“The association acted to instead stop the violence and brutality on the part of the security forces, and condemned the disproportionate violence and the presence of police and border patrol on our campus,” he says. “Once again, the need to create a platform of discussion in depth but non-violent between Arab and Jewish students [is evident.]” Prof. Kampf argues that there is another explanation for the absence of discourse inside the Hebrew University among Arabs and Jews. The atmosphere in Jerusalem is so tense, that it kills any opportunity for discussion.“In my course, we dealt with the Israeli assassination policy. Surprisingly, an Arab student spoke harshly against it,” he recalls. “There was a deafening silence in the class, despite the fact that the majority clearly disagreed.”Kampf claims that the students of Jerusalem are walking on egg shells when it comes to the Arab-Israeli conflict, trying not to wake the beast.A NOTICEABLE difference can be seen in attitudes of Arab students who come from the North of the country.“I grew up in Nahariya. In the North we have daily encounters with the Arab population. I have a couple of Arab friends and even a very close one,” says Gali Dado, 24, an international relations student.According to Dado, the atmosphere in the North is less tense.“It seems that in the North, friendship between Jews and Arabs is a legitimate thing, while in Jerusalem it is not.”Noor Shibli, 19, a media and journalism student from the northern village of Shibli, adds.“There are almost no relations between the two student populations in the university.The Arabs and Jews sit separately in class and at breaks.”Shibli is in her first year but maintains a positive attitude toward her relations with other students. “I never imagined that I would make Jewish friends so fast, but I did. My best friend in the university is Jewish,” she smiles.In her first semester, Shibli took part in a joint Arab-Jewish workshop offered by the Communications Department called “Dialogue between groups in conflict.”“It was very warm and welcoming,” she says. “I even found myself listening to Jewish students with very extreme ideas regarding to the conflict, and felt connected to some of them.”“The main idea was to create a space in which students from different groups, such as religious and non-religious, could meet each other and speak,” says Dr. Yiftach Ron, who led this workshop.“Students who had had extreme differences among them found themselves understanding the other by discussing common traits or features.“There were two girls who I believe changed their entire cultural concepts of Arabs.”This atmosphere encouraged Shibli to speak at lectures from the very beginning.“Once we discussed the subject of honor killing in the Arab sector. Of course, I know more about it than the Jews, so why wouldn’t I speak? It makes me sad that others don’t.”Not everyone is as optimistic about positive outcomes of mixing groups in the educational sector. “Research has shown us that these workshops, which bring together Jews and Arabs, do not work in practice,” says Dr. Zvi Bekerman, who teaches anthropology of education at the School of Education.Bekerman has researched the multi-language schools in Israel for the last 10 years.He claims that it is not the university’s purpose to initiate encounters between the two populations.“All we hear is that education is the solution to all problems. Well, it is not. People enjoy giving education as an answer as if it was a placebo. The education system reflects society, rather than changing it.” According to Bekerman, the solution will be found in the structure of society and it is the state’s duty to achieve this.The different populations should be integrated in schools, as was done in Ireland and the US, to eliminate negative stereotypes.“Jewish and Arab students can speak to each other without the university’s help. It is the university’s duty to appropriate more resources in favor of the Arab students, as a weakened population, as it does,” he clarifies. “Though, when less than 1.2% of lecturers are Arabs, we are probably doing something wrong.”■ Parts of this article formed the February cover story of the Hebrew University student newspaper Pi Ha’aton.
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