THREE SIDES TO EVERY ARGUMENT

By Abigail Klein Leichman

Local Jewish educators deepen knowledge of Mideast conflicts through The iCenter

“As an educator in the Jewish space, I have some content knowledge surrounding the history of Israel and the conflict, but never felt I have enough,” Meredith Lubin, the education director at Congregation Ohr Shalom—Summit Jewish Community Center, said. “So, if I hear about something that feels it might help, I always jump on it.

“This was one of those things.”

Ms. Lubin was referring to her participation in “Conflicts of Interest,” a certificate program designed to inform and broaden educators’ understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The program is run by The iCenter, an Israel educator development and support network.

Ms. Lubin is teaching a confirmation class made up of 10th-graders from Ohr Shalom, a Conservative synagogue, and Temple Sinai, a Reform congregation, both in Summit.

“I’d asked my teens at the start, ‘What do you want to learn?’ They all said they understand the Jewish point of view of Israel and want to understand the Palestinian point of view. I’d already signed up for The iCenter course, so I said I’d like to wait till December, and I explained why. Now I feel way more prepared to do that for them,” Ms. Lubin said.

“There will be a preface that what I am about to teach is not necessarily how I view the conflict,” she added. “It’s complex; not so simple as ‘we’re right and they’re wrong,’ and students can and should look at this issue from all sides as far as they’re capable. I’ll use this knowledge to help them start doing that.”

The iCenter’s overall mission is to inspire and support North American Israel educators in day schools, public schools, summer camps, synagogues, youth groups, and college campuses in the interest of facilitating “a lifelong relationship with Israel” among their students. According to its website, the center innovates new educational approaches and promotes “a relational and learner-centered philosophy.”

The 20-hour Conflicts of Interest certificate program was developed in the belief that “without a foundational knowledge base and context for the complexities of the times we are in, engaging in any conversation can feel overwhelming.”

Drawing on methods of conflict, peace, and civic education, participants are guided to “explore multiple perspectives and narratives on the Arab-Israeli and Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the examination of primary sources,” gain practical tools for engaging learners in discussions of controversial topics, and “participate in conversations and respectful discourse around contemporary issues.”

Perhaps presciently, the initiative was rolled out in August 2023, just months before the Hamas attacks embroiled Israel in a multifront war and ignited a new wave of anti-Israel, antisemitic sentiment that left many people unsure of what to believe and what sources to trust.

Ari Feinstein, who manages the Conflicts of Interest initiative for The iCenter, said, “The world around us has changed, and there is a clear need for Jewish educators to experience firsthand approachable ways to engage in conflict education. They are searching for more knowledge, frameworks, and confidence to do this work effectively.”

Close to 300 educators have been certified so far. Another cohort will begin in January. The iCenter has a lengthy waiting list for the program, which consists of two virtual sessions and a three-day in-person session at The iCenter in the Chicago area.

Each participant receives a choice of books after the program; Ms. Lubin opted for “Side by Side: Parallel Histories of Israel-Palestine,” a 2012 dual-narrative book offering “a new paradigm for the teaching of history in conflict and post-conflict situations.”

“There’s still so much to learn, look at, think about, and read up on,” she said. “The course taught us content and how to teach the content, which is really important for learners of all ages. You have to make it palatable and let people make their own discoveries.”

Another local participant was Robin Gold, the assistant director of the JCC MetroWest’s Camp Deeny Riback. The day camp serves about 500 3- to 14-year-olds each summer and employs about 200 staff members.

“I didn’t have a lot of knowledge on Israel and its history, though I felt a connection,” Ms. Gold said. “I was hoping to get that in a way that was not just one-sided. I think it’s important when learning any history to learn all sides.

“The iCenter uses the term ‘conversational receptiveness’—being truly open to hearing other points of view even if they are difficult to hear.”

She said that the course offered Israeli, Arab, and Palestinian narratives of history through peer teaching and discussions with the full 90-person cohort. The information was processed further in breakout groups at the end of each day.

“The narrative of the Palestinians and Arabs was different than the narrative I’d heard from the Israeli side,” Ms. Gold said. “It was eye-opening. I tried to use conversational receptiveness because the feeling of the group was that we all felt a pull toward Israel, and we had to do the hard job of being open to hear all three sides.”

Ms. Gold noted that what she learned could be helpful in dealing with camp counselors from Israel and abroad.

“We have Israeli staff each summer, and this past summer was difficult in many ways,” she said. Our Israeli staff all had come out of the army before camp, and we didn’t see ahead of time the need to give them some downtime and therapy. We also had international staff. There were a lot of people from different backgrounds, and some didn’t know what was happening in Israel.”

Although the camp doesn’t have a formal Israel education curriculum, she anticipates that what she learned through The iCenter program “will help me lead a conversation among international staff as well as help the whole staff in trying to figure out a way, perhaps using iCenter resources, to educate our staff on Israel-related issues.”

“Conflict education is an essential tool for Jewish and Israel educators,” Anne Lanski, The iCenter’s CEO, said. “The iCenter is seeing an overwhelming demand that reflects the new reality that educators face.”