Master’s Degree programme International Relations Second Cycle (D. M. 270/2004) Final Thesis Ethnic Urban Conflict: the education system as tool and battlefield in the struggle for Jerusalem Supervisor Ch. Prof. Marcella Simoni Assistant supervisor Ch. Prof. Antonio Trampus Graduand Davide Ruscelli Matriculation Number 840424 Academic Year 2016 / 2017 1 Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................................................ 2 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................ 4 EDUCATION AND ETHNICITY: AN ALLIANCE FOR THE NATION-STATE .................................................................................... 4 DIVIDED CITY IN A DIVIDED LAND: THE CASE OF JERUSALEM .............................................................................................. 6 STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS ......................................................................................................................................... 7 NOTES ON TERMINOLOGY ....................................................................................................................................... 10 METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................................................................... 11 1 ETHNONATIONALISM AND SPACE IN A CONTESTED JERUSALEM ................................................................. 14 1.1 ETHNONATIONALISM: THE POLITICS OF CULTURE .................................................................................................... 16 1.1.1 Thinking the nation: an overview ........................................................................................................ 18 1.1.2 “Hot” and “banal” nationalism: complementary strategic dimensions .............................................. 27 1.1.3 Ethnonationalism and Religion ............................................................................................................ 30 1.1.4 Seizing the ethnonation ....................................................................................................................... 31 1.2 ETHNOCRACY .................................................................................................................................................. 32 1.2.1 A pre-modern legacy: Neo-millettization ............................................................................................ 37 1.3 “HOW MANY CITIES”?: THE ETHNONATIONAL STRUGGLE FOR JERUSALEM: JERUSALEM'S URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND THE CONFLICTING GEOGRAPHY OF SPACE .......................................................................................................................... 39 1.3.1 Changing space(s): a brief history of Jerusalem's urban development ............................................... 42 2. FORGING THE NATION(S): DEVELOPMENT OF THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS IN ISRAEL/PALESTINE ............ 53 2.1 MASS EDUCATION: IDEOLOGY AND STRUCTURE ...................................................................................................... 54 2.2 FROM THE MILLET-STRUCTURE TO THE INDEPENDENCE/NAKBA ................................................................................. 55 2.3 THE STATE'S SUPREMACY: THE COMPULSORY EDUCATION LAW, THE REFORM AND THE “TRIANGLE STRUCTURE” ............... 58 2.3.1 The Compulsory Education Law: the State enters in the educational arena ....................................... 59 2.3.2 Mamlakhtiyut ...................................................................................................................................... 60 2.3.3 The School Reform Act ......................................................................................................................... 63 2.4 ARAB EDUCATION ............................................................................................................................................ 64 2.5 EAST JERUSALEM: THE CAPITAL AND ITS “COUNTRY” ............................................................................................... 66 2.5.1 Oslo and everything after .................................................................................................................... 69 2.6 AN UNFINISHED PROJECT? ................................................................................................................................. 70 3 EDUCATION SYSTEM(S) IN JERUSALEM ........................................................................................................ 72 3.1 CONTEXTUALIZING THE JERUSALEM EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM IN A REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE ................................................. 74 3.2 INSTITUTIONAL ACTORS ..................................................................................................................................... 75 3.2.1 The Israeli Ministry of Education ......................................................................................................... 75 3.2.2 MANHI ................................................................................................................................................. 77 3.2.3 Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Education ..................................................................................... 78 3.3 EDUCATIONAL STREAMS IN THE JERUSALEM'S EDUCATIONAL ARENA ........................................................................... 80 3.3.1 Public Hebrew Education (Mamlakhti) ................................................................................................ 81 3.3.1.1 Yad be Yad ........................................................................................................................................ 82 3.3.2 Public State Religious Education (Mamlakhti Dati) ............................................................................. 84 3.3.3 Public Arab Education .......................................................................................................................... 85 3.3.4 Recognized but unofficial education: Haredi Education ...................................................................... 87 3.3.5 East Jerusalem private school network ............................................................................................... 89 3.3.6 Waqf schools ....................................................................................................................................... 92 3.3.7 UNRWA schools ................................................................................................................................... 94 4 EFFECTS OF AN ETHNOCRATIC APPROACH TO EDUCATION ADMINISTRATION ............................................ 98 4.1 AN INTERTWINED WEB OF EDUCATIONAL STREAMS ................................................................................................. 98 4.2 THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION FACED TO THE LOGIC OF ETHNOCRACY ............................................................................... 99 2 4.3 INTERNAL RECONCILIATION, EXTERNAL SEGREGATION ............................................................................................ 104 4.3.1 Closing the gap .................................................................................................................................. 105 4.3.2 Learning about the Other .................................................................................................................. 107 4.4 FAILURE AND HOPES FOR PEACE EDUCATION ........................................................................................................ 109 4.5 GLOBAL EMERGING TRENDS AND THE FRAGMENTATION OF THE PALESTINIAN IDENTITY ................................................ 111 CONCLUSIONS .............................................................................................................................................. 115 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................................. 117 SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE: BOOKS AND ARTICLES........................................................................................................... 117 WEBSITES .......................................................................................................................................................... 126 NEWSPAPER ARTICLES .......................................................................................................................................... 127 OTHER SOURCES .................................................................................................................................................. 128 INTERVIEWS ........................................................................................................................................................ 128 3 Introduction The status of Jerusalem and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have been at the center of the international community’s debate for the past century to say the least. The Balfour declaration has just recently become a century old and this strip of land between the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean Sea has undoubtedly changed. At its heart lies Jerusalem, one of the world most famous and symbolically important human settlement. Palestinian and Israelis are still fighting for its control with different means and tools. The city reunited