The reflection of the Arab character in Israeli children's literature in the years 1990 - 2015

Abstract

Israel is trying to overlook the Arab character in various literary productions, as it does not allow any other formula except for the official one that contains foundations that cancel and refute the Nakba and the terrorist acts that accompanied it against the Palestinians. It claims to be an attempt to prevent the contradictions in the so-called literary narrative it seeks to tell us. The Nakba and its repercussions in the educational system in Israel are not taught, and it is taught relatively (less than the Holocaust). In October 2009, for example, the Ministry of Education ordered the collection of all copies of the book "History of Building a State in the Middle East" published by Dar Shazar publication, intended for second and third intermediate grades. The reason is that the book sheds light on the Nakba, and uses the term "ethnic cleansing". It is written in both Hebrew and Arabic. The book was printed again after making amendments to it. Therefore, the problem of the Israeli education system is reflected in the Arab "other", whether it is Israeli Arabs or Palestinians. It is represented by rethinking the teaching of history in schools, and in this context, it is important to remember that children's literature plays a major role in shaping the political ideology of the recipient youth in general, the Arab-Jewish conflict, the Palestinian narrative and the Arab personality in particular. Literary productions that bring together Jewish readers, with the Arab "other", be it a child or an adult. Research on children's literature has little effect on the national reflection of the "other" in Israeli literature for children. Therefore, the present study aimed to identify the image of the Arab in Israeli children's literature for the period (1990-2015). The study was defined by several novels and short stories that were published in the period under study. The study used the descriptive and analytical method as it is the appropriate approach to achieve the goal of the study