Tensions emanating from the Israeli/Palestinian conflict lead to misunderstanding, segregation, and conflict between Arab and Jewish students on U.S. college campuses. Teaching about this conflict presents particular challenges for faculty and student affairs staff. This study uses a participatory action research method that engages Arab and Jewish students in understanding and changing issues of concern to their own campus communities. A qualitative analysis of the final papers and interviews from the students in Arab/Jewish intergroup dialogue courses indicated that the students had different pre-perceptions of each other, experienced conflict and strong emotions in the dialogue, and reported outcomes that progressed from the development of communication and listening skills to critical self-reflection, perspective-taking and empathy, development of friendships, and action for social change. The students continued to struggle with understanding each other and maintaining relationships. Recommendations for pedagogy and research are discussed in this article.

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The Palestinian-Israeli conflict remains unresolved, and these tensions inflame relations on American college campuses. This study analyzed quantitative and qualitative data for Jewish college students to examine barriers that may exist for these students in learning about Palestinian narratives and history. Results of an online campus survey indicated gender, family Holocaust history, religiosity, concerns about anti-Semitism and attachment to Israel were not significant barriers, whereas having been to the West Bank or knowing or working with someone Palestinian, predicted more positive student attitudes about Palestinians. Interactions between students' political views about Israel and family and parents' beliefs predicted student attitudes about Palestinians. Qualitative analysis with students in a course about the conflict confirmed these findings, and identified additional barriers of media and personal communication skills. Recommendations are made for future research and intergroup education to improve relationships between Jewish and Arab college students.

The tensions from the Israeli occupation of Palestine reach around the globe and heated debates over the struggles of these two peoples are evident on U.S. college campuses. The power imbalance represented in the relationship between Palestinians and Israelis is replicated on college campuses. BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) is a response to this inequality, is a movement to end the occupation, and has raised the issue of normalization. Teaching about this conflict presents particular challenges for faculty who negotiate this highly contested issue in classrooms or campus communities, and intergroup dialogue is an important pedagogy that can be used. It is critical to address normalization in intergroup dialogue. We discuss examples and themes of normalization in intergroup dialogue, and present pedagogical and other strategies to prevent and address normalization in intergroup dialogue and in other similar intergroup contact approaches with Arab or Palestinian and Jewish or Israeli participants.

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