The heightened tensions following 7 October – the date of Hamas' incursion into Israel – have resulted in nuance being lost on both sides, according to Van Berkel. Prior to 7 October, there was widespread criticism of Hamas in Gaza, which was seen as corrupt, self-enriching, and anti-democratic. The same was true on the Israeli side, where demonstrations against government policies had been going on for months. “This has shifted on both sides, with mutually growing enemy images, and diminished self-criticism among their own ranks.”
Van Berkel is Endowed Professor of Holocaust Education, a chair funded by HAN University of Applied Sciences and the Central Jewish Board (CJO). His research interests include how to effectively address antisemitism in education, and the question of whether focusing on the Holocaust helps. What he believes is needed for effective teaching is room for nuance, a basic requirement that he sees eroding further and further.
Van Berkel: “In education, you have to show both perspectives, to understand why Hamas is doing what it’s doing, and why Israel is fighting the way it is fighting now. You don't have to agree with it, but you have to understand it, and for that one has to learn to listen to each other.” The political and historical contexts are very complex, especially in this region, which doesn’t make the task for teachers any easier, Van Berkel says. One of his wishes is therefore an up-to-date training programme for teachers who have to deal with these topics.
Reinforced stereotyping
Van Berkel says that providing more information is not necessarily a guarantee for better mutual understanding. “Although it is a precondition for it.” Education, he says, faces the equally complex and necessary task of building a dam against stereotyping. “Stereotyping is growing on both sides. Jews are seen as a homogeneous group, which of course they are not. Similarly, there’s no such thing as the Palestinians.”
Social media does not make the already complex task that are facing many teachers any easier. And the influence of these media is increasing; Van Berkel points to fake information and AI-generated images and texts asserting their unfiltered influence in increasingly segregated audiences. “Imagine having to provide a balanced interpretation of difficult topics under such circumstances”, says Van Berkel, “it becomes more and more difficult to provide context for the emergence of different views or ideologies”.
The demonstrations, on both sides, can be inflammatory, because they feed mutual stereotypes on both sides while gathering contextual knowledge is not high on the agenda. “But that isn’t something education can run away from. The demonstrations are not so much an opportunity for education, they are an assignment. Be happy that young people are engaging, capitalise on this, and engage with them.”
Balancing act
Van Berkel states that teaching about such contested topics a balancing act, with teachers having to deal with parties who quickly feel personally involved. “Sometimes, people perceive opposite views as an attack on their identity.” Therefore, a lot of teachers will increasingly be called upon to use their pedagogical skills to help young people to listen to other opinions, and to practise self-reflection.
While the Holocaust as a phenomenon deserves our continued attention “as a historical phenomenon and as a culture of remembrance”, it does not always have to be meaningful in education, as it focuses too much on the victim perspective. Van Berkel therefore advocates integrating critical reflections on ‘the perpetrators’ in education. “Antisemitism can better be addressed in a broader context, for example by linking it to gender or colonisation debates.”
On 4 July, at 3.45 p.m., Marc van Berkel will deliver his inaugural lecture, entitled Funderend verleden. Holocausteducatie in de 21ste eeuw (Foundational past. Holocaust education in the 21st century.) Registration required, at www.ru.nl/rede/vanberkel.
This chair is funded by the Central Jewish Board (CJO) and HAN University of Applied Sciences. Professor Van Berkel's reading tip for a better understanding of the perpetrator perspective in WWII: The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell.