Shared Living in Israel — Higher Education as an Agent of Change in a Conflicted Society

This paper focuses on academia as an agent of change in ongoing conflictual situations. In diverse and divided societies, the education system has a responsibility to promote multiculturalism in order to mitigate tension. Various theories deal with creating discourse spaces between groups in conflict: contact theory, the intergroup approach, and the narrative approach. This paper presents the role assumed by academia in Israel to bring Jews and Arabs closer together by means of two current examples — the ‘Israeli Hope in Academia’ project, which began two years ago under President of Israel Rivlin’s tutelage, and the subsequent establishment of Centers for Shared Living on campuses as an example of execution in practice. The paper ends with practicable recommendations how the policy implementation can be improved in these centers, and can inspire other countries that experience ongoing conflicts.