Education and Self-Sacrifice: The Character and Scope of the Victim Narrative in School Literature Readers

Literary works dealing with the image of the national victim pose dilemmas for the education system with respect to education for peace: Many of those works portray real suffering in historical periods and the national ethos; alternatively, exaggerated use of the victim narrative in educational materials may educate for imminent loss of trust and thereby perpetuate the conflict. This dilemma is illustrated with the literature readers currently used in Israel's junior high schools.