Past, Present and Future,Through Education
With the establishment of the unique joint initiative 'Countering anti-Semitism - Past, Present and Future, Through Education' within the bilateral partnership between Gordon College of Education (GACE) and katho, both institutions combine their efforts to counter contemporary anti-Semitism.
During the last decade, experts attest to an unprecedented increase in the scope of Anti-Semitism, globally. In addition to pre-modern and modern manifestations of antisemitism, we are facing a new wave of anti-Semitism, which is manifested in the form of delegitimization of the State of Israel.
This phenomenon is dealt with mainly by governmental elements, Jewish communities in Israel and worldwide, and civil organizations, yet the academic and the educational work regarding them is underdeveloped and in fact rather marginal. The formation of the bilateral partnership between GACE and katho is aiming at filling this void in research, teaching, and research-based practice.
The Westfalen government shows its dedication to countering antisemitism through its partnership with Katho and GACE in supporting their joint antisemitism education project. Yecheskel Taler ( Gordon College, left) and Hans Hobelsberger (Katho, right) sing the initiative :”Countering Antisemitism - Past, Present And Future, Through Education”'. in the background: NRW State Secretary Dr. Mark Speich, Igal Sheinis (Gordon College), Bernward Robrecht (Katho) (from left to right)
As part of the special partnership between GACE and katho, both institutions established a joint research, education, and training center, which is dedicated to making a common field-oriented and scientific contribution to the effort of countering contemporary anti-Semitism. As institutions whose special expertise lies in the fields of formal and non-formal education, professional development and training, as well as in the field of social work, the joint center opens up an opportunity to examine and tackle the aforementioned phenomenon from a multi-layered innovative perspective. It also has the potential to strengthen the German-Israeli relations, at the scientific and at the educational levels.
In addition to joint educational and academic efforts to preserve the memory of the atrocities of the Shoah, the center will aspire to analytically unpack the complexity of contemporary articulations of anti-Semitism, to understand and explain them and later to suggest educational and social strategies to tackle them systematically and intelligently.
Following the core principles of Catholic Social Teaching, the Catholic University of Applied Sciences of North Rhine-Westphalia (katho) works on the realisation of human rights and human dignity in the pursuit of academic excellence in teaching and research. The katho has a worldwide network of partner universities. Moreover, the university is a member of the International Federation of Catholic Universities and shows a presence in intermediary science organisations1, thanks to its international profile features. In addition, the university networks with international professional organisations in the fields of Social Care, Health Care and Theology.
Gordon Academic College (GACE) was established in 1953 and is accredited to bestow B.Ed. and M.Ed. degrees. Located in Haifa, GACE serves Israel's northern peripheral areas and populations. It is a multicultural institution in which students and faculty members represent the ethnic, religious and cultural groups of Israel's North (Jews, Muslims, Christians, and Druse). GACE was the first teaching college in the country to establish a Multicultural Educational Resource Center whose goals include training teachers in cultural diversity and to enhance attitudes of tolerance and co-existence among diverse groups in Israel. It has also implemented numerous community programs with immigrant and minority groups.
