Education to Human Rights and Academic Freedom

We decided to begin our report on the erosion of democracy in Israel by examining the field of education. A democratic society, in which citizens are committed to the values of human rights, tolerance, and mutual respect, does not emerge of its own accord. Education plays a crucial role in shaping such a society. The education system can help ensure the stability of democracy by exposing students to additional values to those they encounter at home, in the media, under the influence of consumer culture, or with the encouragement of elements representing commercial interests. Education to democratic values exposes students to diverse views and positions, and teaches diverse skills, including the collection and critical analysis of information and independent thought.

We decided to begin our report on the erosion of democracy in Israel by examining the field of education. A democratic society, in which citizens are committed to the values of human rights, tolerance, and mutual respect, does not emerge of its own accord. Education plays a crucial role in shaping such a society. The education system can help ensure the stability of democracy by exposing students to additional values to those they encounter at home, in the media, under the influence of consumer culture, or with the encouragement of elements representing commercial interests. Education to democratic values exposes students to diverse views and positions, and teaches diverse skills, including the collection and critical analysis of information and independent thought. Such education can enable the students – who later go on to become citizens – to respond respectfully and tolerantly to different opinions and narratives, and to make informed and autonomous choices in terms of their own positions and actions.

Alongside the recent deterioration in democratic norms in Israel, education to human rights and democracy also seems to have been impaired, and has sometimes even been the subject of attacks. Themes relating to human rights, pluralism, and coexistence, which issued to be uncontroversial, have suddenly begun to be seen as “dangerous” and questionable. Militaristic values are being emphasized in school culture; the right of the Arab minority to its own culture and language has been impaired; and freedom of expression of teachers and researchers is under threat.

These trends are particularly alarming against the background of numerous surveys and studies showing that the perception of democracy in Israel, particularly among young people, is increasingly confined to its formal dimension, i.e. the perception of a democratic system as one that holds regular and free elections to parliament. There has been a grave erosion in terms of the substantive dimension of democracy, and particularly the protection of the rights of minorities in society against the strength of the majority.¹ Thus, for example, a survey conducted among hundreds of Jewish and Arab youth in the 15-18 age range in February 2010 for the School of Education at Tel Aviv University found that, in theory, most of the youths support the democratic system: eighty percent of the respondents (seventy-nine percent of the Jewish respondents) stated that they would prefer a democracy they disagree with to a dictatorship with whose leadership they agree. However, the findings suggest that for most Israeli youths, democracy is restricted to its formal dimension, whereas its substance – i.e. individual and minority rights – is not recognized or supported. By way of example, forty-six percent of the Jewish respondents in the study do not think that Arab citizens should enjoy equal rights, and fifty-two percent believe that Arabs should not be elected to the Knesset.  ((For further details on this survey, see the article on the Ynet site. Similar attitudes were found in the 2004 Israel Democracy Index of the Israel Democracy Institute, which focused on attitudes among youth.))

True democracy cannot survive for long without the protection of human rights in general, and minority rights in particular.² The erosion of democratic values directly encourages the violation of these rights and leads to manifestations of hatred, intolerance, and violence, challenging the very foundations of democratic society. In recent years, for example, racism has spread in Israel, as has the social legitimacy attached to this phenomenon. The freedom of expression of groups and individuals has been impaired, and there is an increasing tendency to delegitimize those who are perceived as different. This trend has included acts of violence against minority groups in Israel, such as Arabs, immigrants, gay and lesbian people, Haredim (ultra-Orthodox Jews), and migrant workers.  ((We examined this issue in depth in the State of Human Rights Report 2009, published in December 2009. For example, see the chapter on the subject of hatred and racism. We will return to this subject in subsequent chapters of the Democracy Report, which will be published on this site.))

In light of the alarming trends described above, it is more important than ever to encourage education to democratic values – human rights, tolerance, pluralism, critical thought, and respect for others. This chapter examines the state of education to democracy in the Israeli education system, focusing on several key areas. We also discuss in detail the threats to academic freedom in Israel – a subject that has recently been the focus of stormy debate in Israel. The chapter closes by presenting ACRI’s recommendations in order to strengthen education to democracy. After all, today’s students are tomorrow’s citizens; they will shape the future character of the State of Israel.

1. Thus, for example, the Israel Democracy Indexes for 2007 and 2008, published by the Israel Democracy Institute, found that most of the respondents (seventy-eight percent in 2007 and eighty-three percent in 2008) agreed with the general statement that “all people should have the same rights, regardless of their political opinions.” However, when the surveys examined attitudes toward specific rights, the level of support fell. Fewer than half the respondents, for example, agreed that a speaker should be allowed to present severe criticism of the State of Israel in public; only fifty-four percent in 2007 and thirty-six percent in 2008 supported freedom of religion; and just half the respondents (fifty percent in 2007 and fifty-six percent in 2008) recognized the need for Jews and Arabs to enjoy full equal rights. See: The Israel Democracy Index on the website of the Israel Democracy Institute. [↩]
2. On the connection between human rights and democracy, see the Introduction to the State of Human Rights Report 2009. [↩]