REVIEW ESSAY: חינוך CHINUCH: ISRAEL’S EDUCATION SYSTEM AND QUESTIONS OF IDENTITY

Abstract

Albeit in a different context, Wiesel’s soliloquy resonates with the
pressing questions on the formation of identity, and contingent quest
for meaning for many Jews. Indeed, what are the right questions to
ask the divine, in as much as the divine seems to be indifferent to the
indignation suffered by Jews, especially when it comes to the
memory of the Shoah (?) The space to ask such questions sets itself
in the rigmarole of the everyday, and ties in with notions of
belonging and memory. These concepts are thus linked to the theme
of religion in global politics, exemplified in the curious case of Israel.
Prior to its establishment in 1948, the founders of Israel often applied
religious justifications for its creation and subsequent existence, with
a ‘return to homeland’ among the oft-heard sentiments. The purposes
of this paper are varied. The first is to understand the character of
Israel through the theoretical framework provided by Rogers
Brubaker in his ‘Four Approaches to Nationalism’, with a focus on
how nationalism itself can be argued as a form of religion. Secondly,
we will look at the justifications to why secular education – as an
extension on nationalism as religion – has taken root in Israel.