Educating for a Society that is based on Respectful Pluralistic Dialogue

Keshet means “a rainbow” in Hebrew, and our specific rainbow refers to the diversity within Judaism and pluralistic education. The Keshet model of education was conceived of in 1995 by Ruti Lehavi, a graduate of the first class at the Mandel School of Educational Leadership in Israel. The first Keshet School opened just before Prime Minister Rabin's assassination. Keshet was born out of the dire need for a knowledgeable and respectful pluralistic dialogue, which was then - and still is - divided with regard to its various identities.

In Jerusalem, a city distinguished by the widest range of ethnic communities in the country, there is a dangerous and growing divide, strengthened and augmented by deepening ideological and often political ways of life which encourage distance, mutual suspicion and misunderstanding. On top of that, in the complex Israeli society we find many different voices that address Judaism in a large variety of ways and usually try to claim ownership of “the true Judaism” as they see it. The feeling of ownership over Judaism, taught in some settings, threatens to alienate Jewish culture to a large part of society, thus depriving them of the sense of cultural ownership to which they are entitled and creating a sense of cultural inferiority.

This convolution causes innumerable conflicts in Israeli society. It causes distance, resentment and hate, which lead to tension, aggression and even acts of violence on a personal, communal, and even national-political level, as witnessed in the Rabin assassination.

While the educational system is supposed to bridge differences, in Israel the divide is supported and even reinforced by the segregated public school system which is split into “Religious Public Schools” and “Secular Public Schools". The Keshet School was envisioned in response to this situation, to create a model of education that brings hope to the future of Israeli society. Keshet is the only educational institution in Israel that fully integrates affiliated and non-affiliated students and educators, and offers a unique response to students from across the full gamut of social origin. While responding to specific needs of the different groups, Keshet Schools have been established as pluralistic public schools that aim to educate with openness, tolerance and dialogue, three attributes which we want to reinforce in our torn society.