How Muslim Arab–Israeli Teachers Conceptualize the Israeli–Arab Conflict in Class

The aim of this study was to examine how Muslim Arab–Israeli teachers conceptualize the Israeli–Arab conflict with their students. The findings show that Arab schools are in a constant state of tension between opposing poles of identity and belonging. The teachers emphasize their students’ alienation from the Israeli establishment and their lack of identification with the Jewish state, while expressing deep identification with the Palestinian people. They are able to cope with this split by seeking contents and coping mechanisms of a universal nature that are not in dispute, and which enable students to repress the dissonance in which they live.