Boundaries as a topic in geographic education: The case of Israel

The educational system works to influence ideology and determine beliefs and values transmitted in the socialization process. This paper examines the way in which Zionist ideology has used the discipline of geography to create certain beliefs relating to the boundaries of the territory from the beginning of the century until the present day. The means by which the ideas and beliefs were transmitted were through curricula and textbooks prepared for the highly centralized educational system in Israel. The findings show that the educational system has transmitted dual and confused messages on the question of Israel's boundaries. The presentation of borders is imprecise and indeterminate and there is a sophisticated avoidance of any discussion of this value-loaded question. The relations between ideology-power-knowledge in Zionism have produced a situation in which Israeli citizens of the present acquired political beliefs in the past from which each has built his/her ‘mental map’. These maps will influence their decisions at the ballot box on the question of the future borders of the state.