ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the formation of national identity in Israel/Palestine, with a focus on the ways in which national identity has been, and continues to be, constructed amongst the Jewish society in Israel. The processes of socialization operate through a system of education which transform mundane curricula such as Geography, History, Archaeology and Sociology into the means through which identity is disseminated and justified. The chapter focuses on the way in which territorial identities in particular are formed and the way in which such identities impact actual government policy making as it relates to conflict and peace. For Israeli schoolchildren, geography, history and archaeology focus on the religious and Biblical links between the Jewish people and the ancient land of Israel. The majority of the West Bank settlers have moved to this region as part of an overt political act aimed at ensuring that this region will remain under future Israeli control.
