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Syllabus Multiculturalism and the Israeli society - 62274
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Last update 04-08-2016
HU Credits: 2

Degree/Cycle: 1st degree (Bachelor)

Responsible Department: law

Semester: 2nd Semester

Teaching Languages: Hebrew

Campus: E. Safra

Course/Module Coordinator: Michal Barak

Coordinator Email: michalbarak1@savion.huji.ac.il

Coordinator Office Hours: Tuesday, 3pm

Teaching Staff:
Michal Barak

Course/Module description:
Israel is a country of diverse populations who may be differentiated by nationality, religion, religious observance, ethnicity, culture, and more. When speaking of nationality, two main sectors come to mind: Jews and Palestinian Arabs, but once one begins to take religion into account, Israeli society is even more diverse. In addition to the publicly dominant Orthodox Jewish establishment there are various movements within Judaism (Ultra-Orthodox (Haredim), Traditional, Conservative, Reform, and secular Jews), Muslims (Sunni), Christians (over ten different communities), and Druze, Circassian and Baha'is. In terms of culture, the Jewish community includes Ashkenazi, Sephardi, and Mizrahi cultures, and within each of these groups different ethnicities can be found – Bucharan, Kurdish, Russian, Polish, Yemenite, “Anglo”, Moroccan, Ethiopian, etc. The Palestinian Arab community also includes the Bedouin community. Thus, Israel is made up of people of many religions, cultures, and ethnicities, with varying skin tones, who have different customs and speak different languages.
Such diversity creates a challenge for Israeli society – a society founded on the very concept of creating a national home for one particular people who carry a history as a persecuted minority. How much should the majority culture dominate? To what extent should diversity be accommodated? How much of a voice should the Other have? How can Israel create a common public sphere in which all of these diverse communities can feel a sense of belonging – in which they can connect? Can there be a national identity or characteristics of a core, shared citizenship with which everyone can identify? Should everyone share a common language? A common educational system? What should be shared - and what should remain separate?

Course/Module aims:
- examine issues of multiculturalism in the Israeli context.
- know the major challenges Israeli society is facing and understand their origins.
- experience the analysis of case studies from various perspectives.

Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
To better understand the reality of Israeli society. To develop a critical view of the power relations in the Israeli society and to better know the diversity of Israeli identities.

Attendance requirements(%):
80

Teaching arrangement and method of instruction: lecture and case studies

Course/Module Content:
1. Is there a shared Israeli citizenship? What does it mean to be a Palestinian Citizen of Israel? Haredic citizen? Ethiopian Israeli? Who has influence and why?

2. between human rights to group rights: separate education for Haredim and the issue of core curriculum.

3. What does it mean to be an Arab in a Jewish State? recognition and division struggles of Arabs in Israel: the visionary documentsfor the Israeli Arabs and the case of Qa'adan.

4. Multiculturalism and religion: sale of pigs meat.

5. What are the barriers for mobilization? Is there still discrimination towards Mizrahim in Israel today?

6.Multiculturalism:Is there a rich pluralism or distractive divisions in Israel?

Required Reading:
Will be posted

Additional Reading Material:

Course/Module evaluation:
End of year written/oral examination 100 %
Presentation 0 %
Participation in Tutorials 0 %
Project work 0 %
Assignments 0 %
Reports 0 %
Research project 0 %
Quizzes 0 %
Other 0 %

Additional information:
 
Students needing academic accommodations based on a disability should contact the Center for Diagnosis and Support of Students with Learning Disabilities, or the Office for Students with Disabilities, as early as possible, to discuss and coordinate accommodations, based on relevant documentation.
For further information, please visit the site of the Dean of Students Office.
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