New study unit on pre-state fighters proves controversial
Some worry lessons on fighters who were hanged or committed suicide will glorify martyrdom to 8th, 9th graders.
By Or Kashti Tags: Israel education Israel newsThe Education Ministry is introducing a study unit on the 12 underground fighters who were hanged or committed suicide in prison during the British Mandate in Palestine.
The 12, known as "Olei Hagardom" ("those hanged on the gallows"), belonged to the pre-state militias Etzel and Lehi.
The program, intended for eighth and ninth grades, will include lessons plus a national competition for essays, poems and drawings on subjects such as "an imaginary conversation I had with one of Olei Hagardom in his last moments in prison" or "the last letter of a condemned man to his family."
The new unit is already proving controversial.
"Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar is advancing ideological matters close to his heart in the education system," a ministry official charged. "His ideology is entering the curriculum."
"It's worrying that the Education Ministry is conveying a message sanctifying death and portraying it as sublime," added a senior university historian.
Until now, details of the 12 Olei Hagardom - nine Etzel combatants and three Lehi fighters - were taught as part of history lessons, ministry sources said.
In a letter announcing the new program, Sa'ar wrote, "I hope the program, recounting Olei Hagardom's devotion to the struggle for Israel's independence, will bolster the students' ties with their people and heritage ... and that their devotion will serve as an ideological model for our youth."
The ministry also instructed teachers to "encourage students to take part in the competition and guide them in presenting their projects."
The essays, poems and drawings entered in the competition will be evaluated by a committee comprised of Education Ministry officials and staffers from the Uri Zvi Greenberg Heritage Center and the Menachem Begin Heritage Center.
"It's important to learn about the ideology of Zionist leaders, like [Theodor] Herzl and [Ze'ev] Jabotinsky," said a veteran high school history teacher from Tel Aviv. "But in this program, the justification is the underground fighters' actions, and especially their end ... There are moral and philosophical questions that should be addressed when you teach 14-year-olds about people who chose to die rather than accept a pardon or negotiate with the British authorities."
"The new program embraces martyrdom and worships the victim for being a victim," added the senior university historian. "If they want to teach this subject, it must be in the context of the fight against the British. You can't start out by asserting that because they were hanged, they're martyrs. Their being victims does not justify turning them into a subject for study."
The education system intends to mark Jabotinsky Day next week, as required by a law enacted in 2005, the Education Ministry said Monday. Schools were instructed earlier this month to prepare ceremonies and special activities, including lessons about Jabotinsky's character and work. Sa'ar himself will give a civics lesson on Jabotinsky in a high school in the West Bank settlement of Ma'aleh Adumim.
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Etzel and Lehi must certainly be part of the history curriculum, but moral issues must be raised alongside their tactics and their role in various battles. Students must be exposed to the moral issues of terror tactics, a tough challenge for for any well-rounded treatment for young teens. Will the lessons touch on Deir Yassin and other similar actions in which these groups were directly implicated, and their role in creating the flight of refugees?
Jabotinsky was an open national fascist who even cooperated with the enemies of the Jewish populations in Eastern Europe. It is shameful and against Jewish values to commemorate such a person. These extremist are ruining everything good in Israel and are poluting the minds and souls of the youths. It is painful to witness.
David Raziel of Irgun's market bombings against innocent people were a sign of civilization? This is simply another attempt to make jewish terrorism out to be "different" than its arab counterpart, since the truth would otherwise drastically undermine the legitimacy of fighting Hamas the way its done.
Acording to http://www.zionism-israel.com/dic/Etzel.htm: "Etzel - (Hebrew) Acronym for "Irgun Tzva'i Leumi" - National Military Organization; Dissident (revisionist) Zionist terrorist group founded in reaction to Arab riots. Etzel broke away from the Haganah and began violent activities about 1938. Etzel conducted a number of terror operations against the British, alone or in cooperation with Lehi, as well as brutal bombings of Arab civilians."
The adult population of this country has had a devil of a time figuring out our real history and it's still an ongoing process. Since when should teachers teach what they don't really know? We think of ourselves as a developed nation and lo and behold, as far as our schools are concerned, we're hitting rock bottom on developed country league tables. Let's stop filling our children's head with tripe and use the time saved to help them study some of the other stuff that they will need to be competent in the world we live in. That might give them the wisdom needed to sift and analyze what they see around them on their own, and offset their woefully inadequate schooling.
The author of this article implies that only certain history should be taught - the leftist revisionist version of history where the only freedom fighters were the Haganah & the rest were just terrorists. This is b.s. The Irgun & oither freedom fighters were just as instrumental & moral in Israel's struggle for independence from the anti-Semitic British.
the 12 were civlized people . hamas is something like stone age people and mentality
"There are moral and philosophical questions that should be addressed when you teach 14-year-olds about people who chose to die rather than accept a pardon or negotiate with the British authorities." ALLAH AKBAR...
... or whether he is indulging in right-wing propaganda...
Could someone explain the difference between these 12 "martyrs" and Hamas?
"But in this program, the justification is the underground fighters' actions, and especially their end ... There are moral and philosophical questions that should be addressed when you teach 14-year-olds about people who chose to die rather than accept a pardon or negotiate with the British authorities." "The new program embraces martyrdom and worships the victim for being a victim," added the senior university historian Were not those Jews who died on Masada "martyrs" and "underground" fighters and I have never seen leftist hesitate to mention Masada. This article clearly demonstrates the Anti-right bias that believes the Haganah betrayel of the Jewish underground was a good thing and that sinking the Atlaena was also good when it was a cowardly act, a betrayal and a hostile take over of Israel by the extreme left wing.
"I hope the program, recounting Olei Hagardom's devotion to the struggle for Israel's independence, will bolster the students' ties with their people and heritage ... and that their devotion will serve as an ideological model for our youth." Seems Palestinians share similar sentiments
Wow, I hope no Arab Israeli kids take this class; it might give them some bad ideas.