Sceps.es

Re: The study and report: “Victims of Our Own Narratives?”
Portrayal of the “Other” in Israeli and Palestinian School Books,
Initiated by the Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land;
the Israeli government’s response; and the reputation of the scholars/researchers who supervised
the study and wrote the report
From: Current and former Presidents of the International Society for Political Psychology
To: Members of the media and Mr. Gideon Saar, Minister of Education, the State of Israel
This above referenced report describes a large, in depth study, which carefully analyzed what is
written in Israeli and Palestinians school books about the other party. It is a report of special
importance. A negative response to it by the Israeli ministry of education, which dismissed the
report in a way that derogated the scholars/researchers who planned and supervised it and wrote
the report, and thereby also the research team and the large and reputable international advisory
board, is highly distressing. It is also surprising, in that if anything, the report is favorable to
Israel.
We, past presidents and the current president of the International Society of Political Psychology,
an organization whose members work on exploring the relationship between political and
psychological processes, want to say a few words about the report, and then about the
outstanding scholars/researchers who supervised the research and wrote the report, especially
Daniel-Bar-Tal, an Israeli, whose work all the signers of this letter know extremely well, and
also Sami Adwan, a Palestinian, another highly reputable scholar and researcher. We are less
familiar with the work of Bruce Wexler of Yale University, the third author of the report, but
know of his high reputation.
The findings of the report are completely consistent with what we know about persistent, intense
conflict and the attitudes that develop within each group toward the other. It is quite universal, as
found in the school books, that each group has its own version of history, in which the other
group is seen as responsible for the conflict and violence. This interferes with making peace and
reconciliation. While it is obvious from the study that problems exist on both the Israeli and
Palestinian side in what they teach in schools about the history of their conflict, and in depicting
(or actually in ignoring the existence) of the other group, it is a positive element that in the
schools books of either group there is little active dehumanization of the other side.
However, the report is actually favorable to the Israelis, in that the problematic way of writing
about history and excluding representation of the other group are less present in textbooks of
Israeli state schools, especially secular ones. This makes the response of the ministry of
education especially distressing. A spokeswoman called the study "biased, unprofessional and
significantly lacking in objectivity… findings that were predetermined even before it was carried
out professionally, and it certainly does not reliably reflect reality."
We won’t speculate about the motivation for such a response. We do want to say something,
however, about the authors, who have a scientific history and reputation for integrity that makes
the claim that the findings are biased, unprofessional and lacking in objectivity improbable, and even defamatory. Professor Daniel Bar-Tal is an outstanding scholar with great integrity. We all know him well. He was in 200-2001 President of the International Society of Political Psychology. In 2006 he was awarded the Alexander George Award of the International Society of Political Psychology for the best book in Political Psychology (Stereotypes and Prejudice in Conflict published in 2005 by Cambridge University Press), In 2011 he received the highest award of the Society, the Lasswell Award for “distinguished scientific contribution in the field of political psychology,” and in 2012 he received the Nevitt Sanford Award of the Society, for a scholar who 1) engaged in the practical application of political psychological principles, and 2) created knowledge that is accessible and used by practitioners to make a positive difference in the way politics is carried out. He has many other awards from other Academic/Professional associations. Professor Sami Adwan is also a highly reputable scholar who has done important work. He is Associate Professor of Education at Bethlehem University and Visiting Professor at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies. His work has been supported by grants from Georg Eckert Institute, UNESCO, Friends of the Hebrew University, U.S. Institute for Peace, Robin Institute for Peace and UNICEF. Professor Adwan currently serves as a member of the National Commission on Education, Advisory Board of the Palestinian Curriculum Center, and Board of the International Association for Textbooks and Educational Media. No study is perfect, of course. The ministry could have carefully studied and criticized/given feedback on particular elements of the study, from a methodological or other valid perspective, rather than dismissing it out of hand in a way that questions the competence, integrity, and intentions of the authors. It could still do that. Sometimes when actions of the Israeli government are questioned, it is assumed that it comes from an anti-Israeli or even anti-Jewish motivation. Our motivation is far different. I, Ervin Staub, who drafted this letter, in response to concern expressed by the other signatories, with the letter then approved by all the signatories, am a child survivor of the Holocaust, a genocide scholar, and someone who has worked on reconciliation in various settings, including Rwanda. All of us signatories support and when possible work for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and hope for a positive future for the State of Israel. This report, if its findings are addressed, can contribute to that positive future. Cordially Yours. Ervin Staub, PhD Past President of the International Society of Political Psychology Professor of psychology emeritus and Founding director of the doctoral program in the Psychology of Peace and Violence University of Masschusetts at Amherst Author, most recently, of Overcoming Evil: genocide, violent conflict and terrorism, Oxford, 2011 Rose McDermott, PhD Professor of Political Science Brown University President, International Society of Political Science Cheryl Koopman, Ph.D. Professor Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Stanford University

Source: http://www.sceps.es/Doc/Bar_Tal_and_rerport.pdf