Ep. 50: Challenges for Education: Side by Side – Parallel Histories of Israel/Palestine (Prof. Dr. Eyal Naveh – Tel Aviv University)

Guest: Prof. Eyal Naveh – Tel Aviv University Hosts: Yusuf & Mert Bio: Eyal Naveh is an Israeli historian and educator specializing in history education in conflict contexts. He has taught at Kibbutzim College of Education and Tel Aviv University, where he served as Head of the Department of General History and Chair of the General and Interdisciplinary Studies Program. Naveh is co-director of the Peace Research Institute in the Middle East and has been a visiting professor at Harvard, UC Berkeley, Cornell, the University of Toronto, Venice International University, and the University of Vienna. He is best known as a co-creator of the groundbreaking history textbook Side by Side: Parallel Histories of Israel-Palestine (2012), developed with Israeli traumatologist Prof. Dan Bar-On and Palestinian sociologist Prof. Sami Adwan. The book presents Israeli and Palestinian perspectives side by side, enabling students to engage with complex, conflicting narratives without flattening differences. It has received international recognition as a model for post-conflict history education. In this episode: Yusuf and Mert speak with Prof. Naveh about the creation, use, and relevance of the groundbreaking history textbook Side by Side. They discuss collaborating with Israeli and Palestinian educators, the challenges of presenting contrasting narratives, and the book’s reception in schools and academia locally and internationally. The conversation explores the role of history education in conflict regions, political polarization, and teaching empathy, critical thinking, and complex truths to new generations. Prof. Naveh reflects on divisions since October 7, the shrinking space for peace education, and lessons for educators and students in Germany. This episode was recorded July 22, 2025. LInks: Prof. Dr. Eyal Naveh: https://english.tau.ac.il/profile/enaveh Prof. Dr. Sami Adwan: https://www.torgnysegerstedt.se/en/main-article-sami-adwan/ Prof. Dr. Dan Bar On: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Bar-On https://www.juedische-allgemeine.de/allgemein/pionier-des-dialogs/ Adwan, Sami, Dan Bar-On, and Eyal Naveh, editors. Side by Side: Parallel Histories of Israel-Palestine. The New Press, 2012. https://thenewpress.org/books/side-by-side/?v=eb65bcceaa5f Peace Research Foundation in the Middle East: https://www.vispo.com/PRIME/index.htm Disclaimer: Guest opinions are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the podcast team. Technical legal terms are explained in Episode 36 with Prof. Claus Kreß; contested histories are addressed by Prof. Gudrun Krämer in Episode 21.