Learning Leadership in Trying Times

In Israel, conflict is often unavoidable. Tel Aviv University’s Gordon Faculty of Social Sciences is helping its students build the skills to navigate these conflicts through a new course for Arab and Jewish students in collaboration with Canadian nonprofit Heart to Heart. The course, Leadership and Solidarity in the Context of the Arab-Jewish Conflict, provides practical tools for leadership in divided environments to young people who plan to go into socially impactful fields such as psychology, social work, and policymaking. This year is the second run of the course. 

The students, evenly split between Arab and Jewish Israelis, spend a semester hearing from experts with a variety of viewpoints and having tough conversations. With that academic framework in place, they then fly to Canada for two weeks at a summer camp run by Heart to Heart, a nonprofit that fosters solidarity between Arabs and Jews. There, the students build leadership skills through intensive learning, team-building, and dialogue which they will carry with them into their careers and activism long after graduation from TAU. 

Experiencing Diversity 

The course includes a full academic roster of weekly lectures, assignments and discussions. For their final project, students in mixed pairs or groups must write a proposal for a solidarity or pro-social initiative. 

“We built the course with students who have a high chance of making an impact in mind,” says Prof. Shlomit Yuval-Greenberg, who founded the program and heads its operations. “Students must apply to be part of the course, and we make an effort to curate a group with a diversity of experiences who will also mesh well and make lasting personal connections. For those who have already participated in solidarity programs or activism, we consider this to be the ‘next level’ on their journey to making a difference.”  

Prof. Yuval-Greenberg is also a researcher of cognitive neuroscience at the School of Psychological Sciences and the Sagol School of Neuroscience. 

Prof. Yuval-Greenberg: “There were tense moments and even arguments, but the students weathered them and stayed engaged with their peers."

When designing the course, Prof. Yuval-Greenberg and her colleagues had many considerations to juggle. They tried to ensure a balanced dose of each narrative so that all students would feel represented. The course is taught entirely in English so as not to privilege one first language over another—of course, even here there is complication, as English is a second language for some students and third for others.  

“There were tense moments and even arguments, but the students weathered them and stayed engaged with their peers. Even though the course was late in the day and most of campus had already gone home, I would often see them stick around after class to continue talking with each other,” says Prof. Yuval-Greenberg. 

The course’s impact is truly solidified thanks to the 14-day retreat in Canada. The retreat gives students the necessary distance from the pressures of their home reality, allowing them to imagine a different potential future together.  
The trip is made possible through generous funding from Heart to Heart, as well as a small supplementary fee from the students. 

 Meet the Students

Daniel, 32, is in his third year of a BA at TAU’s Shappell School of Social Work and participated in the course last year. “This is actually my second BA—I also have a degree in computer science also from TAU,” he says. “But having grown up as part of the LGBT community in a religious family, I understand what it feels like to be different and realized I wanted to help others who are marginalized.” 

Daniel, a Social Work Student Photo: Rafael Ben-Menashe, TAU

After October 7, Daniel understood that coexistence and solidarity were urgent matters. His classmate, Albert, agrees: “I’m a Palestinian Israeli Arab Christian from a mixed city. After October 7, I started to feel unsure of where I belonged. This course came at just the right moment, giving me the opportunity to understand my own identity more honestly.”  

Albert recently graduated with a BA in education and psychology and plans to continue his studies with an MA in clinical psychology. He also participated in the Rothschild Ambassadors Program, where he worked toward bridging social and cultural divides. 

Daniel, too, has participated in coexistence programs before, but he says this was the most functional: “We had a lot of heavy conversations and even arguments during the class, but it was only in Canada that we had enough time together to actually build the skills for managing those conversations productively.” 

Adds Albert: “During the course, I learned a lot about the history of the conflict, and gained new perspective on even my own family’s history. In Canada, we had tough but meaningful conversations about many topics including the most painful—the Nakba, October 7, our own experiences. We went through it together and the connections will stay with us for years to come.” 

Albert, a Psychology and Education graduate

Looking Forward 

As he works toward becoming a clinical psychologist, Albert says he will take the skills he learned in the Leadership and Solidarity Course and apply them in his practice: “I believe that living in a country with such a complex history profoundly shapes our sense of belonging. I aim to be a therapist who engages with these complexities and puts them toward helping my patients, and society, heal.” 

After returning from the camp, Daniel continues to be in touch with much of his cohort and they are still hoping to bring their initiative to fruition. Their idea would extend what they learned beyond the University community, building first social relationships between Arabs and Jews, and eventually, making possible conversations about the opposing narratives which can make life in Israel so tense. 

Albert: "I aim to become a therapist who engages with all the complexities we grappled with, and puts them toward helping my patients, and society, heal.” "

Prof. Yuval-Greenberg says that the Faculty hopes to give course alumni real opportunities for change, hopefully with seed money to fund their final proposals. They are also hoping to partner with TAU’s Entrepreneurship Center to provide students with the skills and connections to create real-world engines for change.  

“We are also working on an organized alumni network,” she says. “Through these ongoing relationships and future partnerships, our goal is to plant the seeds of a generation with the skills and drive to unite the many different groups in Israel.”