British educational policies in Palestine

Abstract

This article analyses the case of British educational policies in Palestine, from the end of the First World War until the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. It focuses on the relationship between the British Mandatory government and the Hebrew educational system. Dominant groups in the Jewish community of Palestine did not regard the British Mandatory authorities as a potential asset, a source of influence and intellectual capital that could enhance the educational system. Thus they squandered opportunities to benefit that system, including financial support, while ignoring and denying British contributions that actually enriched Hebrew education and culture. Even after the state of Israel was established, official publications ignored Mandatory influences and attributed all progress to the Zionist endeavour, thus forging an institutional canonised history and a collective memory.' My main argument - involving the Zionists wasting the opportunity to be helped by the British - will be augmented by reviewing the motives of the various ethnic and ideological groups within the Jewish community who either advocated or opposed British involvement in education. The differentiating features were cultural and political rather than class based. Resistance to British involvement in education served as a means of enlisting commitment to the national ethos and inspiring the young to struggle for independence; also involved were a variety of interests and a power struggle veiled under the banner of nationalism and the plea for cultural autonomy. The main factors determining attitudes towards the British among the various groups in the Jewish community were their orientation towards modernity and religiosity, in turn based mainly on cultural background. There were three main groups among those rejecting British influence on Jewish education: Orthodox religious circles who opposed Zionism and tried to hinder modernization and secularization; Left-wing and religiousZionist parties who managed sectarian educational systems and used them for party indoctrination and recruitment; and the Teachers' Union, which spoke in the name of nationalism and the cultural autonomy while having