Cultural heritage education and militarization: a case-study of the Castel National Heritage Site in Israel.

Taking the Castel National Heritage site in Israel as an empirical case study, this paper explores how experiential pedagogies at cultural heritage sites can facilitate militarization processes. The 1948 War is a pivotal moment in Israel's history and collective memory. The war has been commemorated in the Israeli landscape for decades, notably at the Castel National Heritage Site. This article provides a critical analysis of the educational strategies at the Castel site, using a multi-method ethnographic approach. Three main results are presented. First, the memorialization of the Castel battle has shifted, from a commemoration-oriented heritage site to an experiential-educational heritage site. Second, cultural heritage is used to evoke emotions among learners that, in turn, facilitate militaristic values. Third, the Castel site contributes to characterizing Israeli society as upholding prominent ethical standards in the context of a 'just war' against a continual existential threat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]