Sharon has a strong interest in Health and Edcucation in the
North East. She used a recent debate on the 60th anniversary of the
state of Israel to highlight a few lessons which can be learnt by
those who work in our public services here. The full text of her
contribution is below.
Mrs. Sharon Hodgson (Gateshead, East and Washington,
West) (Lab): Often debates on
Israel focus on the peace process and the failures of the Israeli
and Palestinian political establishment to reach a comprehensive
settlement when so much time has already been dedicated to talking
about that. There is plenty to say on that matter and I am sure
that colleagues have and will expand further and at great length on
the problems and the solutions.
However,
given the broad title of the debate, I wanted to take the
opportunity to look at aspects of the state of Israel that are not
related to peace and security and to focus on some of Israel’s
remarkable achievements in the fields of education and health. Both
areas are of particular interest to me and I am committed to trying
to reduce health inequalities in the UK. My constituency suffers
from particularly high rates of heart disease and cancer and I am
keen to learn wherever possible of ways to reduce those rates in
the north-east. As a member of the Select Committee on Children,
Schools and Families, I have been lucky enough to have had
opportunities to consider what other countries are doing in terms
of education. Much can be learned from some of Israel’s
achievements and best practices.
When the
state of Israel was founded in 1948, a fully functioning education
system already existed. It was developed and maintained by the
pre-state Jewish community. The modern Hebrew language—an updated
version of biblical Hebrew—was used as the language of instruction,
which had been revived for daily speech at the end of the 19th
century. However, since shortly after the establishment of the
state, the education system has faced the enormous challenge of
absorbing large numbers of immigrant children from more than 70
countries. Some children arrived with their parents, and others
came alone. The UK can learn a range of lessons from Israel’s
massive success in integrating such a vast number of children into
an evolving school system. We are constantly developing our own
education system to deal with a changing demographic and it is
hugely important that we take lessons from other countries who have
successfully dealt with similar situations, although in differing
circumstances.
In the
newly established state of Israel, the mass immigration of the
1950s—mainly from post-war Europe and Arab countries—was followed
by a large influx of Jews from north Africa in the 1960s. In the
1970s, the first sizeable immigration of Jews from the Soviet Union
arrived. Since the beginning of the 1990s, more than
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1 million Jews from the former Soviet Union have arrived in Israel,
and tens of thousands more still arrive each year. In two mass
movements—in 1984 and 1991—almost the entire Jewish community of
Ethiopia was brought to the country. In addition to meeting urgent
demands for more classrooms and teachers, special tools and methods
had to be developed to help absorb youngsters from many cultural
backgrounds into the school population. Programmes designed
specifically to meet the needs of newcomers include preparation of
appropriate curricular aids and short-term classes to introduce
immigrant pupils to subjects with which they were not familiar,
such as the Hebrew language and Jewish history. Special courses
were initiated to train teachers to deal with immigrant youngsters,
and retraining courses for immigrant teachers have helped them to
find jobs in the Israeli education system.
Israel
takes the provision of education seriously and, since 1990,
national expenditure on education as a percentage of gross domestic
product has averaged above 8 per cent. That compares with UK
education expenditure of 5.6 per cent. of GDP in 2007. School
attendance is mandatory from the age of five and is free until the
age of 18. Almost all three and four-year-olds attend a pre-school
programme.
Higher
education plays a pivotal role in developing the country. In the
academic year 2004-05, 257,000 students were enrolled in Israel’s
higher education institutions, with 48 per cent. attending
universities, some 30 per cent. studying at various colleges and 21
per cent. participating in courses through the Open university. A
wide range of programmes, from bachelor degrees to courses at
post-doctoral level, are available at Israel’s eight universities,
while colleges offer academic courses as well as specialised
training in fields such as primary school teaching, music, fashion
design and physical education.
Israel
has recognised its lack of natural resources and compensated by
investing heavily in higher education and scientific research and
development and in the application of R and D. Some 24 per cent. of
the Israeli work force hold a university degree. In that respect,
Israel ranks third in the industrialised world after the United
States and Holland. The statistics speak for themselves. With so
many of Israel’s youngsters reaching university, their level of
production in science and technology is remarkable. While we
consider innovative and creative means of encouraging our youth to
enter university in the UK, we should take the time to examine how
Israel has achieved that and whether we can learn from it.
The other
area that I wanted to talk about was health, but I am aware of the
time and that many other hon. Members wish to speak. I will
therefore cut my comments short. I will just highlight Hadassah
hospital in Jerusalem, which is a beacon of integration. Its
mission statement includes a pledge to forge links between patients
of all nationalities, races and religions who come to its doors for
healing. As well as being at the forefront of medical research and
pioneering technologies, Hadassah is a tremendous example of
equality and medical care that transcends all political
divisions.
I hope
that I have given an insight into the contributions and
achievements of Israel and that I have highlighted work that we
might be able to learn from in the UK. No
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doubt Israel will continue to stride forward over the next 60
years. I wish Israel the best of luck in all its fine work.
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