More than 20,000 school going children in Israel have been displaced from homes by regular attacks near Gaza and in the northern areas. Despite their continuous diversification, Israel’s education system has been forced to educate students who are much more than academic generations; they are the displaced and often vengeful generation in need of not only knowledge but survival skills in what seems to be a post-apocalyptic world, Jewish pride and relevant experience in handling an uncertain future.
This was evidenced by student like Romi Dudai who was a kibbutz Nirim kindergarden student and shifted to netanya. The unending violence has not only affected their education but also their emotional wellbeing. To such students, school opening is not fulfilling but something that evokes fear in them and taints the joy with the sorrow of uprooting from their homes and neighbourhoods.
The current disinities of the Israeli education system are now the task of providing for these near-term necessities while at the same time bearing the educational challenge of conditioning its learners for a world where aggressive confrontation persists. Apart from scores, schools are to ensure that students are equipped with a rich indication of Israel’s history and the need to preserve the Jewish tradition.
This approach, simultaneously ideal for the strengthening of personality, is entirely necessary for preparing the generation that is to ensure the stability of the Jewish state and its values. However, as the nation looks forward to a long and uncertain future of dealing with security threats, the education of its youth to unity and perseverance is one of the vital ingredients of survival.