In this article I argue that, contrary to what some critics have argued, the problem with the idea of promoting tolerance in education is not the tolerating/tolerated distinction as such, but how we tend to think about the place of welcome in practices of tolerance. Drawing on the ethical dimensions of hospitality (Derrida), I first elaborate on the importance of examining new ways of welcoming difference beyond clear cut dichotomies between self and other. I then make a distinction between two modalities of hospitality. Using this distinction, I discuss how a move from knowledge and control to hospitality and risk may open new spaces for welcoming the other, and consider what implications this move has for advocating personal transformation and social justice in tolerance education.