The Van-Gelder Center for Holocaust Instruction & Research

The Van-Gelder Center for Holocaust Instruction & Research aims to provide educators with research and practical guidance regarding Holocaust education in Israel and worldwide.

The Center's research agenda includes clarifying the problems of Holocaust education from a historical, sociological, psychological and philosophical perspective.

Research conducted under the auspices of the Center includes studies on Holocaust Education and perceptions of citizenship in the world, the socialization, and values of minority groups, values education; teachers' professional socialization patterns; perceptions of reconciliation and conflict management.

The Center has also designed a theory revisiting the concepts of Holocaust and Genocide as a vehicle to reexamining anti-Semitism "out of the box", as well as a curriculum on ethics and social justice, gender equality, violence, to be used in high schools.

The Van-Gelder Center organizes international conferences and cooperates with UNESCO Chairs and similar institutions and Centers worldwide.

Aims of the Center:

1. Theoretical-philosophical research: clarifying the problems and challenges of Holocaust education.

2. Historical-social research: Conflict and conciliation among nations and within societies in exposing the roots of past in order to draw conclusions for reconciliation and co-existence in the present.

3. Applied research: Creating models, evaluating different parameters of anti-Semitism and tolerance worldwide, interreligious, ethnic, political and minorities.

4. Research in the area of "Education for Human Rights and Reconciliation" in Israeli society and worldwide.

Activities of the Van-Gelder Center for Holocaust Instruction and Anti-Semitism

• Facilitating exchanges between Israeli and International academics through conferences
• Initiating and supporting research
• Producing and publishing educational and instructional materials for all education levels
• Establishing cooperation between Israeli and international institutions such as UNESCO and to create programs within the Israeli educational system.
• Service to the Community and the Educational System

Future activities of the Center:

Prof. Gross is invited to lecture at the University of Beijing, The National Institute of Education in Singapore and in the University of Sydney and Melbourne on Holocaust Education.

Research under the auspices of the Center:

Yael Richler Friedman: The influence of teachers sense of efficacy and their pedagogical content knowledge (P.C.K) of primary schools teachers on their pedagogical goals and teaching strategies in teaching controversial issues. The case of Holocaust education in Israel.

Yael Shtauber: Tourist Guidance in Heritage Sites and Institutions Commemorating the Jewish people Holocaust: An exploratory research. (Together with Prof. Poriya from Ben Gurion University)

Sarit Levy: "Hashahar 6" High School Students with Special Needs Journey to Poland.