Twelve Israeli teachers – half of them Russian speaking olim, half Israeli veterans, met behind closed doors once a week over a year in order to get to know each other beyond the usual stereotypes. They discussed a wide range of activities, from childhood and kindergarten memories to relationship to the Holocaust.

The pioneering initiative aimed to respond to the embroiled relations between cultures in Israel.  Would an alternative mode of social interchange be possible here – one that is nourished by cultural diversity rather than threatened by it?  Can the cacophony of voices in our midst be transformed into a fruitful dialogue?

The exchange between the educators was difficult and fraught, but they managed to overcome the obstacles of estrangement and difference.  Towards the end, they even visited Russia together and cooperated in developing pedagogies that could enable other Israelis to experience the satisfaction they derived from their intercultural encounter.

Dialogue from the Heart of Confusion provides a record of what transpired behind the closed doors, on the joint venture to Russia and in the professional collaboration in the wake of the experience.  It creates a new genre of educational literature that provides compelling heart-wrenching reading.  The book sweeps the reader into the discourse generated by the teachers, with all its outcries, silences and echoes – an inspiring Israeli orchestra.

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Dr. Daniel Marom is the Director of the Visions Unit at the Mandel Leadership Institute.He is co-editor of Visions of Jewish Education (Cambridge University Press: 2003). He has published articles in the history and philosophy of Jewish and Zionist education in Israel and America.

Micky Miller teaches at The Shevach Moffet School