The Knesset discussed: Should academic institutions be required to offer classes on Jewish-Arab dialogue?

Are academic institutions obligated to promote Jewish-Arab dialogue? The Knesset Education Committee discussed this question last December, following the bill proposed by MK Yousef Jabareen from the Joint List. The bill, which became a motion for the agenda, proposes that academic institutions offer a class that brings together Jewish and Arab students and deals with mutual social and cultural acquaintance. Since it was decided not to obligate the academic institutions to hold any particular academic course, there was a discussion of various possible ways to provide the university with an incentive to take action for a significant encounter between Jewish and Arab students and deepening their acquaintance. The Education Committee concluded by calling upon academic institutions to adopt successful models of a multicultural dialogue class, such as those classes at the Tel Hai and Emek Izrael colleges. The Committee also called upon the institutions to make their campuses accessible to Arab students by placing signs in Arabic, operating Arabic language websites, and recognizing non-Jewish holidays as general vacation time.