Abstract: This study explores how students negotiate complex and sensitive issues in schools, focussing on the October 7, 2023, attacks and their consequences. Drawing on discourse analysis informed by Foucault and discursive psychology, we analyse students’ talk in focus group discussions as situated social action, examining how they make sense of events, construct accounts and position themselves and others. The analysis provides empirical insights into how students navigate a contested topic and contributes to pedagogical approaches that support democratic dialogue and critical engagement. The results show that students negotiate meaning through a knowledge positioning discourse, which shapes students’ willingness to engage amid epistemic ambiguity; a moral positioning discourse, which introduces pressures to take a stance and challenges deliberative ideals; and an anti-antisemitism discourse, which exposes tensions between critique of Zionism and antisemitism. Findings reveal that reliance on media-informed narratives, moral framings and contested identity categories can both enable and constrain dialogue, sometimes reinforcing polarisation and feelings of alienation. The study argues for pedagogical strategies that foster epistemic security, promote perspective-taking and critically engage with the politics of language to dismantle stereotypes and prevent dichotomous narratives.
Abstract: Together we seek to model the redemptive, liberatory, activist, feminist approach to collaborative working to which both authors are committed as teachers, students, rabbis and activists. In our rabbinic chain of tradition (more particularly through other female rabbis) we explore, through the lenses of student and teacher, the 5-year rabbinic course at Leo Baeck College (LBC). We seek to demonstrate how, when working at its best, LBC trains rabbis as activists. Our contention is that the rabbinic education at LBC has the potential to be transformative in creating rabbis as activist leaders, an ideal which ought to transcend the rabbinic training seminary and be taken forward into community.
Abstract: Der 7. Oktober 2023, der brutale Terrorangriff der Hamas auf Israel mit rund 1200 Ermordeten und hunderten Verschleppten und der anschließende Krieg in Gaza markieren auch hierzulande eine Zäsur. Unmittelbar nach Bekanntwerden des Terrorangriffs der Hamas auf Israel am 7. Oktober und des kurz darauf beginnenden
und zum Veröffentlichungszeitpunkt dieser Publikation noch laufenden Krieges in Gaza, erreichte die Bildungsstätte Anne Frank eine Flut an Anfragen. Insbesondere Lehrkräfte und andere an Schule beschäftigte Fachkräfte meldeten sich mit der Bitte nach Beratung und Fortbildung zum Umgang mit Terror, Krieg und den sich daran entzündenden Folgen hierzulande.
Unser Team reagierte schnell mit einer Vielzahl ad hoc durchgeführter digitaler Gesprächsangebote, mit Fortbildungen vor Ort, mit Veranstaltungen, Publikationen und Materialien. Den ersten Jahrestag des
7. Oktobers 2023 nahmen wir zum Anlass, die aktuellen Bedarfe an Schulen systematisch zu erfassen – eine Lücke, die wir mit einer Online-Umfrage unter Lehrkräften schließen. Ziel war es zu erfassen, ob und in welcher Weise der 7. Oktober 2023 und der Gaza-Krieg ein Jahr später noch Thema in den Schulen sind, wie die Lehrkräfte damit umgehen und welche Unterstützung sie sich dabei wünschen.
Zwischen dem 09.09.24 und 23.09.24 haben sich 159 Lehrkräfte aller Schulformen, vor allem aus Gymnasien, Berufs- und Gesamtschulen und mit 98 Prozent überwiegend aus Hessen, an der Umfrage beteiligt. Ihnen und ihren aussagekräftigen Antworten, die wir auf den folgenden Seiten präsentieren, gilt unser ausdrücklicher
Dank. Ihre Antworten zeigen, dass dem Thema große Wichtigkeit beigemessen wird und einzelne Lehrkräfte im Rahmen ihrer Möglichkeiten versuchen, den sogenannten Nahostkonflikt zu thematisieren – dass strukturelle Zwänge, insbesondere mangelnde zeitliche Kapazitäten, einen angemessenen Umgang mit der Thematik
aber erschweren.
Die Umfrage bestätigt uns in unserer Forderung nach einer Bildungsoffensive, die Schulen in all ihrer Heterogenität dazu befähigt und sie mit den entsprechenden zeitlichen und materiellen Ressourcen ausstattet, den Nahostkonflikt und andere komplexe globale Konflikte unserer Zeit, deren Geschichte und gesellschaftspolitische Dimensionen besser verstehen und einordnen zu können.
Ziel muss es sein, dass Lehrkräfte sprechfähig sind zu den Themen, die ihre Schüler*innen und uns als Gesellschaft bewegen – und entsprechend der vielfältigen Identitäten und Positionen im Raum Schule sind Perspektivwechsel dafür unumgänglich. Insbesondere müssen dabei auch der digitale Raum und dessen besondere Dynamiken1
mit adressiert werden – die Umfrageergebnisse zeigen überdeutlich, dass es an Strategien des Umgangs mit den Sozialen Medien mangelt, hier bedarf es einer konsequenten Verzahnung medienpädagogischer Angebote mit Inhalten der politischen Bildung.
Abstract: This roundtable offers a collaborative, multi-vocal forum on the topic of teaching Jewish Studies in the Nordic region, featuring contributions from scholars and instructors based in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Conceived as a reflective platform, it weaves together critical insights, pedagogical experiences, and institutional perspectives. Topics include national contexts, classroom practices, both conventional and experimental curricular offerings, strategies for integrating Jewish Studies into broader academic frameworks, and reflections on the impact of 7 October 2023. Beyond mapping current conditions, the roundtable aims to envision what Jewish Studies in the Nordics could become, foregrounding both the challenges and the possibilities that shape its future
Abstract: The research presented in this article was inspired by an interest in analyzing how antisemitism features in civic orientation courses for newly arrived immigrants in Sweden. In Sweden, as elsewhere in Europe, migration policies have changed in recent years emphasizing integration and adaptation to national norms and values, including ideals such as democracy, gender equality, freedom of speech, etc. One novel task assigned to the course organizers and the teachers (referred to as civic orientation communicators) is to address issues of antisemitism among immigrants. The data for this article have been generated through interviews with communicators and leaders of such course activities. Two research questions are explored: First, how antisemitism is interpreted by the interviewees, and, second, what experiences of encountering antisemitic expressions during courses they report. The data have been analysed using Thematic Analysis. The results show that a clear majority of the communicators holds a reductionistic interpretation of antisemitism, limiting it to specific historical events and violence against Jews, rather than viewing it as a type of discourse that is contemporary and continuously reproduced. It is argued that the reductionistic interpretation of antisemitism leads to a situation where antisemitic attitudes and comments are not perceived as antisemitic, nor responded to at an ideological level during the courses.
Abstract: The article examines the challenges of antisemitism-critical education in Germany in the aftermath of the events of October 7, 2023. It highlights how structural deficits, limited professional training, and the constraints of funding frameworks often leave educational practitioners unable to adequately identify or address antisemitism. Empirical evidence demonstrates that schools and youth welfare organizations frequently rely on repressive measures rather than dialogical approaches, which complicates the protection of Jewish students. The article outlines the theoretical foundations of antisemitism-critical education, differentiates it from preventive education paradigms, and discusses its implications for the German educational landscape. It further critically considers the dependence on project-based funding, the predominance of security-oriented logic, and the strong institutional focus on schools. Finally, it argues for an emancipatory approach to antisemitism-focused education in Germany, emphasizing multi-professional collaboration, structural reform, and the creation of learning environments that go beyond a purely preventive framework.
Abstract: Israel-related forms of antisemitism belong to the most widely distributed patterns of this hatred. Despite the broad covering of the Middle East conflict in the German public discourse, this subject is not prominently represented in the education system (teacher training, school books, etc.). To address teachers’ insecurities and make specific didactical offers, a range of pedagogical handouts has been published since the 2000s. However, the didactical characteristics and appropriateness of these materials have not been analyzed on a broader scale. This paper offers a rare documental focus, as it presents the results of work with a research corpus that includes 195 scenarios of civic education on the topics of the Middle East conflict and Israel-related antisemitism, for which the approach of Qualitative Content Analysis has been used. Based on this research, a typology of didactical approaches has been developed, taking into account didactical and content-related dimensions. This typology can be used to precisely identify and address currently existing lacunae in antisemitism-related education. In addition, this paper discusses the specific contributions of educational materials of each type to antisemitism prevention as well as their non-intended effects.
Topics: Holocaust: Education, Antisemitism: Education against, Curriculum and Schoolbooks, Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Reactions and Consequences Outside Region, Israeli-Arab Conflict: Reactions and Consequences Outside Region, Jewish Relations With Non-Jews: Jewish - Muslim Relations, Islamophobia, Main Topic: Holocaust Legacies and Memorial, Schools: Non-Jewish, Teachers, Teaching and Pedagogy
Abstract: Depuis le début des années 2000, l’enseignement de la Shoah est perçu en France comme une question socialement vive susceptible de déréguler les pratiques de classe. Cette thèse en sciences de l’éducation étudie l’expérience de l’enseignement de la Shoah des profes-seurs du secondaire en France. En s’appuyant sur 30 entretiens semi-directifs, la recherche montre, de l’intérieur, comment les professeurs interrogés perçoivent cet enseignement, ses difficultés et s’intéresse aux réponses déployées par les interrogés. Les résultats montrent les difficultés provenant du côté des élèves : saturation présumée, antisémitisme, concur-rence des mémoires, mais aussi concurrence entre les savoirs sociaux et le savoir scolaire. Du côté des enseignants, apparaît également la vivacité de la question, divisant davantage qu’elle ne fédère les membres de l’équipe éducative. De plus, l’impact émotionnel sur l’enseignant que la confrontation entre savoir scolaire et savoir social véhiculé par les élèves peut engendrer, accentue les difficultés rencontrées. Les professeurs qui montrent une assu-rance dans cet enseignement révèlent au travers des récits de vie de classe, qu’ils investis-sent pleinement le pôle didactique et le pôle pédagogique de la fonction de professeur. Aller à la rencontre de ce savoir social avec bienveillance et exigence, faire dire mais ne pas lais-ser dire amènent ces professeurs à répondre dans le cadre d’un savoir historique, précis et rigoureux qui refuse la dérive relativiste ou normative (Legardez, 2006). L’énoncé de repères éthiques et citoyens, une vigilance quant à la gestion de l’émotion dans la classe y compris de celle de l’enseignant, participent aussi au cadre construit par les professeurs. Ainsi ces derniers alternent entre le pôle didactique le pôle pédagogique, ce qui leur permet de rentrer dans « le fonctionnement improvisationnel de l’enseignant expert » (Tochon, 1993). L’enseignement de la Shoah dans certaines situations sensibles est assimilé à un combat. Une typologie inspirée des travaux de Jacques Pain (1992) sur la régulation de la violence délinquante par les arts martiaux émerge : combattant stratège, combattant intrépide, com-battant émotif, ou témoin distancié sont les différentes figures enseignantes qui se dégagent de cette recherche.
Topics: Antisemitism: Education against, Schools: Primary / Elementary, Schools: Seconday / High Schools, Schools: Non-Jewish, Main Topic: Antisemitism, Teachers, Surveys, Teaching and Pedagogy, University Students: Jewish Students, Interviews, Antisemitism: Jewish Perceptions and Experiences
Abstract: Teaching about the Holocaust is a deeply sensitive and controversial topic in the Republic of Latvia. Due to a Soviet-imposed silence on the topic and the developing nature of democratic education in Latvia, many schools cover this history superficially, if it is covered at all. This study examines a cross-cultural curriculum development project that sought to break the historical silence surrounding the Holocaust in Latvia and provide Latvian teachers with an inviting, defensible, and efficacious curriculum that is both sensitive to societal reluctance to discuss the Holocaust and responsive to the needs of students living in a pluralistic democracy. This ethnographic and descriptive case study draws on multiple interviews with curriculum writers and project personnel, as well as field notes from the 18 month project, and examines how writers arrived at the curricular purposes, aims, goals, and content that would open this closed area. Significant findings include new understandings of the challenges and promises of cross-cultural curriculum deliberation, as well as an analysis of the choices involved in creating a new Holocaust curriculum. These findings suggest numerous implications and considerations for other former Soviet republics and more established democracies grappling with how to develop curricula through just processes while producing materials that foster democratic citizenship.
Abstract: Amsterdam’s National Holocaust Museum is due to open in March 2024. It is the first and only museum to tell the story of the attempt by the Nazis to eradicate Jews from the Netherlands, a history of segregation, persecution, and murder. Yet the story is also one of rescue, survival, and solidarity. One of the museum’s main goals is to engage visitors by involving them in a learning experience, in particular, to encourage young people to study and to develop the skills they need to be able to understand the past, to see how this impacts the present, and to recognize and challenge discrimination and antisemitism today. This article begins by sketching the presentation in the new museum and examines how the museum’s educational facilities (presentation and programs) encourage audiences to think about what they can do to combat discrimination in general, and antisemitism in particular.
