Education Towards Jewish Values in the Israeli State Preschool: Its Character, Essence, and Scope

Abstract

A Jewish–Israeli identity incorporates two identities—Jewish and Israeli, and various philosophers suggest different ways to view the combination or separation of these identities. Agasi and Samucha come from different approaches to suggest ways of integrating both identities. They speak about the existing division between the two identities, in light of the unique characteristics of the State of Israel. The ever-increasing essential need for providing a significant and systematic solution to the issue of value-based education and nurturing the Jewish-Israeli identity of the students of the State education system must be seen in light of the collapse of values in many postmodern Western societies. The existing education system perpetuates the division into sectors that divides Israeli society from within. At the same time, the emphasis in State preschools examined in this article, is on culture and nationalism, as connected to values of good behavior towards others. The findings show that Jewish education at an early age is influenced by the personality and inner world of the preschool teacher and her own connection to Jewish content, irrespective of the educational stream to which the preschool belongs.