Israeli academic institutions serve as an initial place of encounter between Arab and Jewish students. These populations belong to different national groupings and are in conflict outside the academic world. They have different faiths, economic-social-familial-personal histories, and academic backgrounds, resulting in different abilities to cope with their studies. The present study deals with the question of whether and to what degree an academic campus can serve as a place of encounter capable of modifying relationships between populations whose daily reality is affected by the nationalist conflict in which they are embroiled. The study seeks to examine whether and to what degree the background of Arab and Jewish students is connected to interpersonal interactions between the two populations within academic institutions.
The sample-based research, comprised of 459 students from two public colleges, found that the academic campus is a significant factor in modifying relationships between minority and majority populations, when there is an institutional climate of equality and respect. Positive social-academic climate has a positive effect on students and fosters positive feelings on campus. However, the study also indicated that the minority still harbors various concerns, and a not insignificant number feel the effects of discrimination.
An important conclusion is that despite all the differences, the national conflict, and the complexity of majority-minority relationships, on both campuses relationships between the two groups are characterized by a positive climate. Successful modification of Jewish-Arab relationships is expressed by Arab students’ identification with the Israeli milieu, similar to their Jewish peers.
The study emphasizes the significance of forming a comfortable institutional climate in order to constructively absorb minority groups.