Education for patriotism and the Arab-Israeli sector

Education for patriotism, that is, love of and loyalty to a shared homeland, can be an educational solution for restoration and cohesiveness, and for the construction of social solidarity between and within groups of Israeli citizens.In this article I examine the degree to which prevailing education for patriotism in Israel reflects education in families in non-Zionist groups, and if this education has the ability to create the necessary connection and solidarity.I show that formal and informal education for patriotism contradicts the education characteristic in the homes of the Israeli-Arab students. Therefore, they do not have the ability to build a bridge of solidarity.In the conclusion, I offer a general outline for a new Israeli reflection on the concept of an inclusive civil patriotism and education for patriotism that attempts to change a typical patriotic language from an oppositional language into a language of solidarity and inclusiveness.