“Hidabrut” dialogue program  

About the program

Hidabrut is a unique program on campus running for over 20 years now, dealing with issues facing Israeli society. These include religious-secular relations and Jewish-Arab relations, with the objective of creating an atmosphere of tolerance and to establish an improved atmosphere of public discourse in Israeli society. The program holds constructive dialogue moderated by experienced discussion leaders from diverse disciplines of knowledge and research. The dialogue integrates intellectual and social-dynamic elements.

 Structure and character of the sessions

The sessions are constructed as dynamic workshops of productive, open dialogue between students from different groups – religious-secular, Arab-Jewish and dialogue with musical accompaniment. The workshops entail weekly meetings of four semester hours, usually in the afternoon or evening hours. A multi-cultural field trip is held at the end of the workshop (with a nominal fee).

The issues addressed in the workshops include stereotypes in Israeli society, tolerance and pluralism, Jewish identity vs. Israeli identity, a Jewish and/or democratic state and religion-state relations.

At the end of the course, students are asked to submit a paper of about ten pages in length presenting a retrospective view of the workshop and what they experienced, incorporating academic analysis.

Course participation is open to all students in all degree programs.

Students who complete all course requirements are eligible for exemption from 2 academic credits from a general course or from a basic Jewish studies course.

 Discussion leaders in the Hidabrut program:

 Rabbi Zvi Tal

Resides in Ofra, and studied at Mercaz Harav Kook yeshiva and at Bar-Ilan University. Rabbi Tal was involved in education at the high school level for many years, teaching Jewish studies and engaging in teacher training. Today he conducts guided tours in Jerusalem, in the Western Wall tunnels and on the Temple Mount. His tight bonds with the diverse layers of Israeli society have been formed through moderating student discussions in the Hidabrut program over the past 25 years.

Dov Bar Yeshua 

Holds a master’s degree from the Department of Talmud at Bar-Ilan University. Has been a group moderator in the Hidabrut program since 2005, and ran the program in the years 2010-2014. He lectures at continuing education programs for teacher enrichment. He is a personal and relationship coach using the Gestalt and NLP methods. He is a mediator and educator, teaches Jewish studies at religious and secular schools. He views conducting dialogue in Israel as an obligation and a right of the highest kind. 

Ilana Baruch

Head of the Abraham Omer School for Musical Dialogue, Bar-Ilan University – a training program for moderating conflict groups through music. She is a music therapist, doctoral student, and an instructor at Bar-Ilan’s master’s degree program in music therapy and continuing education. She is a grant recipient, initiates programs for promoting active listening, respect, dialogue and forming inter-community bonds. She runs a private practice in Bet Shemesh providing therapy as well as offering guidance and training to therapists.  

Yaniv Hani 

Moderator at Bar-Ilan’s Hidabrut program. Leads discussions between Jews and Arabs in a manner that is a growing experience, imparting values and forming bonds, from a belief and desire to create a tolerant, respectful and pluralistic Israel society.

Dr. Omer Mazel

Dr. Mazel studies culture, is an organizational consultant and an educational expert with over 30 years in education, research and leading projects for local authorities. Dr. Mazel holds a bachelor's degree in behavioral sciences and education from both Ben Gurion University in Beersheba and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, a master’s degree in educational leadership from the Hebrew University and a PhD from the University of Leicester in educational leadership. Dr. Mazel served as researcher and instructor in culture and leadership in a number of academic institutions – Bar-Ilan University, Ben Gurion University, Kaye College, Oranim College, Achva College, Al-Qasemi College and Or Yehuda College. He also served as instructor and researcher holding the rank of associate professor at the University of Würzburg in German, at the University of Chester in England, at the Al-Quds University and at Bethlehem University. Dr. Mazel has a wealth of experience in developing instructional programs especially for teachers colleges and academies, and in running instructional programs in different academic institutions such as Kaye College, Al-Qasemi College and Al-Quds University (Hind Al-Husseini College). As an organizational consultant, Dr. Mazel has led educational projects for local authorities and was a senior organizational consultant in the Sheikh Jarrach Medical Center in Jerusalem. Dr. Mazel’s research interests focus on cultural research, leadership, self-management and education toward multiculturalism.

TEL: 03-5318978

Mail: Dialogue.Program@biu.ac.il