Holocaust Curricula in Israeli Secondary Schools, 1960s-1990s: Historical Evaluation from the Moral Education Perspective

This article deals with the ‘curriculum history’ of Holocaust studies in Israeli secondary schools, from the 1960s to the 1990s, with an emphasis on the moral perspectives of pedagogy. It analyses the complex relations between the Israeli (Jewish) society and its educational frameworks, in comparison to some of the studies on the impact of the Holocaust on Israel. The article discusses eight findings, which raise controversial moral questions about the way in which the Holocaust is taught in Israel. These include, for example, the contentions that Holocaust curricula stimulate deep emotions, without enough balance being given to the cognitive and emotional aspects of learning, and that Holocaust studies are compulsory, while other important parts of the Jewish heritage remain unknown to the majority of non-religious students.