Op Eds & Articles
60 years after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Israel-Asia Center speaks to some of the people shaping Israel-China relations in the fields of diplomacy, business, education and culture, on their perspectives of the past – and prospects for the future.
Prof. Gideon Shelach is the Director of the Louis Frieberg Center for East-Asian Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Chair of the Department of East Asian Studies and Vice Dean of the Hebrew University’s Faculty of Humanities.
Israel-Asia Center: Is China taken seriously by the Israeli government?
I think it is taken seriously now, especially from an economic perspective. But it is still given much less weight and importance than the U.S. and Europe.
IAC: How does that reflect itself in the education system?
Well, I don’t think it has to do with the government or Ministry of Education. There are changes in higher education and high schools, and there are a few places where they offer Chinese language courses in high schools and some Chinese and Asian history. This is a big change from even ten years ago. It’s not dramatic, but some change. But most of it is due to local initiatives.
IAC: At what age should Israeli students be introduced to China?
I think that at least some information about history, geography of China should be taught at a very early age. I think it’s important that students are not limited to Israel, Jewish and the Western world, and at least some information should be taught very early on. I don’t see Chinese language being part of the formal program in schools, but I hope it will become more common to see it offered as an elective course. I hope it will be more widespread.
IAC: What about student exchanges?
Well, there are a number of programs and opportunities. Every good student we have now can get an opportunity to study in China for a year or so. A lot of it is due to efforts by the Chinese government. There is one exchange program by the Israeli government and some by the universities but most are sponsored by the Chinese government. I think that the Israeli government should make efforts to do more to send highly trained professionals to study in China. Today there are no special programs for people at M.A. or Ph.D. level.
IAC: Have you seen a developing trend in the numbers of Israeli students choosing to study Chinese?
In the past ten years, there’s been a big increase in the number of Israelis studying Chinese at the Hebrew University. The department of East Asian Studies is the second largest department in the university’s Faculty of Humanities. Each year we have more than 100 students – for Chinese and Japanese studies. I think that part of it is because of the increase in China’s position in the world and people see opportunities there for working in areas related to China. People are also going abroad more to China, see more in the news, and are interested in Chinese history and culture. There are those focused on career, and those more focused on academic studies.
IAC: How do you feel Israeli students can be better exposed to Chinese culture and people?
Well, apart from formal education, we hope to have extra curricular activities, like lectures, cultural events and exhibitions. Some of it is done at the Hebrew University. We have the Frieberg Center for East Asian Studies, which enables us to conduct activities like that, and some is being done in the public arena. I think that we’ll see more and more of both kinds of activities, in the near future.
IAC: Can you see more room for improvement? What are the challenges of teaching Chinese studies in Israel?
In the past, there was only one department for East Asian studies in Israel, at Hebrew University. In recent years, two more departments opened at Tel Aviv University and Haifa University, and there are other programs, so there are enough programs where Chinese language, culture and history are taught.
I think that the big challenge is to have sufficient number of experts and professors in different subjects. Right now, for example, we have very few people in Israel who are experts in foreign affairs, Chinese policy and the Chinese economy, and there is no one right now who is expert in Chinese art. These are missing and I think there should be more. I hope that the universities will decide to open more positions in Chinese studies within each of their institutions, but also that we can have better coordination between the different East Asian studies departments.
We have to try as best as we can. This is a big field, compared to other fields of study in Israel. For European Studies, for example, we have many people in many departments teaching European culture, art, languages. In Israel, Chinese and East Asian studies are only concentrated in a few departments. The challenge is to have as many sub-fields of Chinese studies represented at the universities. In terms of Chinese language, I think that the basic education we give is good, but the challenge is to have more advanced programs for people who continue to study beyond the three years of a B.A. and really become proficient in Chinese.
Another area in which much improvement is needed in Israel is the infrastructure for East Asian studies. If we are to advance East Asian studies we need to have such facilities as research libraries with primary and secondary materials in Chinese, Japanese and Korean, access to East Asian databases, advanced facilities for teaching East Asian languages, etc. At the Hebrew University, we are currently trying to establish a professional library in the East Asian languages, but this is very expensive. Investment in such facilities should come from the State, the universities and hopefully from private donors as well.
IAC: Can you point to the results of the investment in Chinese studies in Israel thus far?
We see students that graduated from our or other programs in Israel that are integrated into different institutions in Israel, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, other ministries, the economic sector and culture. So I think that compared to even ten years ago, you can now see a much more professional attitude towards China in different parts of Israeli society and this is very encouraging.
IAC: Where do you see Chinese studies here in Israel in 10 years from now?
One thing I hope for in ten years from now is that we won’t need to justify why Chinese studies is important. It will be taken for granted that this is an important part Israeli education at universities and high schools, and I hope that people will recognize and understand that those kinds of programs are an important service that the universities are providing to Israeli society.
Back