Education for democracy and justice under fire: Integrating identity perspectives into global citizenship education in conflict settings

Global citizenship education (GCE) has been studied in contexts affected by conflict, most often in relation to formal education systems. This qualitative ethnographic study examines, through the lens of GCE, the non-formal education practice of dialogue groups between Jews and Palestinians living in the state of Israel. The educational approach of the School for Peace (SFP) at Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam highlights group identity and power relations between groups. Methodologically, the programmes include both bi-national sessions (bringing together Jewish and Palestinian participants) and uni-national sessions (focused on dialogue within each national group and attended only by its members). Between October and December 2023, 200 dialogue sessions were conducted by the SFP in order to create a safe space to discuss issues of identity, social justice and democracy in a situation of war and political oppression. Thirty-four semi-structured interviews were also undertaken with facilitators and participants (both Jewish and Palestinian). The results highlight the importance of uni-national dialogue sessions, where participants’ anger and pain are legitimised, which then enables more candid intergroup dialogue in bi-national sessions. Several participants stressed the need for such interventions, noting that they enabled continued engagement with issues related to the conflict. In addition, it is apparent that open dialogue requires methodological adjustments in periods when freedom of speech is compromised.