RAMAT HASHARON, Israel — Red-haired Ariel Weiss embarrassed his young friends as they debated about Israelis making peace with their neighbors.

"I don't mean to sound racist," he told his classmates, setting his jaw defiantly. "But even if I grow up in a generation of peace, I won't tell my children that an Arab is like a Jew. I think we should treat the Arabs like humans, but don't trust them too much."

Ariel's comments brought groans from his fellow 14-year-olds. But some sympathized.

"There are people who are opposed to peace," said Inbar Kalmonovitch. "Some people think it is good that we get to know the Arabs, but for others it is frightening, because there are still murders, there are still wars."

Hadar Gonen nodded. "It is confusing," she agreed. "On the one hand, we're signing peace agreements. Then, on the other hand, people are getting killed."

Ariel, Inbar and Hadar are part of an experiment under way in every grade of Israel's public schools: More than a year after the Israelis signed their historic accord with the Palestine Liberation Organization, the Ministry of Education is trying to teach young people what peace will mean for Israel.

Officials, principals, teachers and students are finding the task complex and painful.

After months of preparation, including special workshops for teachers and pilot programs in handpicked schools, it has become clear that explaining Israel's efforts to make peace is, in some ways, more difficult than explaining the need to go to war.

Consider the experience here at Alumim middle school in Ramat Hasharon, a wealthy Tel Aviv suburb. It is an airy, well-appointed school; the parents of many students are highly educated professionals. But the Arab-Israeli conflict has deeply scarred even these relatively privileged, pampered Israelis, said Principal Ilana Dan.

"You must understand," she said. "All our lives, we were taught that we have enemies and that Arabs were our enemies. During the Gulf War, Scud missiles fell in this neighborhood. Houses were destroyed. People were hurt. Our children were frightened. For months after the war, many of them were afraid to go home after school."

And when it comes to discussing peace, "everybody in Israel, including the students, has . . . very set opinions," said Sara Harel, one of the ministry officials who helped to develop the half-million-dollar education program. "We think that the role of the schools, in this instance, will be to help children form their opinion from knowledge and to confront other opinions which are different from theirs."