Engagements with the Middle East Conflict in Education

The article discusses the specific and different ways, political or civic education can address the pressing topic of antisemitism referring to the State of Israel. After October 7, 2023, but also since before, this became the predominant expression of antisemitism. To find appropriate answers in the field of education is a highly relevant task, although many research gaps can be found here and existing approaches are hardly evaluated. The text presents two main differentiations for conceptualising education on Israel-related antisemitism: one, a direct/indirect basic approach of dealing with antisemitism, and two, a focus on the Middle East Conflict itself or on the international discourse around and the reactions to it as well as its perception. Combined, these differentiations lead to four different possible approaches of civic education. Educators could use this heuristic to reflect their goals and methods and complement them with new ones.