Proceedings of an international conference, held in Jerusalem, which focused on the role of adult education in multicultural societies in view of the unexpected revival of nationalism, xenophobia and racism in the "post-perestroika" era. Anxiety was expressed about rising violence against foreigners and interethnic conflict in hitherto liberal West-European communities. The issues raised were: the challenge of education vis-a-vis contemporary political, social, economic and technical realities; how to promote democratic values; how to encourage unity against diversity; how to ensure basic human rights; defusing tensions between ethnic, cultural and religious communities, between majorities and minorities and between antagonistic nations.

The papers included in this volume were presented at the Third International Conference on the History of Adult Education, held in Jerusalem, April 1990. The theme of the conference was "The Role of Adult Education in Crisis Situations." Although they all focus on a common underlying theme, the various papers in this volume deal with a wide variety of topics, illuminating the central theme from diverse points of view. The rich mosaic of participants, coming from so many different countries and analyzing a broad range of "crisis situations," lends an unusual breadth and piquancy to the discussions presented in this volume.