Education for coexistence and Arab-Jewish encounters in Israel: Potential and challenges

The killing of thirteen Arabs by Israeli police forces in October 2000 points to the mounting tension and hostility between Arabs and Jews in Israel. Encounter and coexistence programs constitute one of the few channels for the development of communication, trust, and genuine understanding of the complex Arab-Jewish reality in Israel. Thus, it is essential that these encounters be examined and professionally developed to respond to the needs of the two communities. This article examines certain shortcomings of these encounter programs and provides suggestions to improve their efficacy. The conclusions are based on an earlier empirical study conducted between 1992 and 1998, which investigated six encounter programs, and on a series of interviews with Arab-Jewish facilitators conducted in 2001.