Introduction

My very first trip to Israel, over spring break my freshman year of high school, was on a cultural exchange through my public high school Hebrew class. Over the course of those three weeks, I quickly fell deeply in love with this country in that way that only an adolescent could. It was the first time I had ever been outside of the US but it was so much more to me than merely a trip abroad; yes, it was foreign and romantic but it also felt intimately familiar. All my life I had been taught about Israel as my home away from home. I had seen the photos and tasted the food; I had watched the movies and carried the flag; I had studied the language and raised money to send to this country on the other side of the world from me. I had been taught all my life that Israel was a part of me and that I was a part of Israel. 

So, that very first trip to Israel was magical, to say the least. I can still remember eating falafel and chips with my host family, the view overlooking Jerusalem from Yad Vashem, and feeling closer to God than ever before when I touched the Western Wall. I also remember walking through the Arab shuk in the Old City and having no idea that it was completely empty because we were there at the very beginning of the first intifada. In fact, I had no clue that there were any problems in Israel. My Israel was milk & honey and David Broza & Yehudit Ravitz. My Israel made no mention of Palestinians or strife of any kind. I was 14 years old and Israel was perfect. 

My complete and utter adoration for Israel was not dimmed during my junior year of college spent at Hebrew University in Jerusalem - not even during the three day protest by the Orthodox over the Oslo accords that blocked my bus from being able to drop me off on campus; not even when Baruch Goldstein massacred muslim worshippers in the Cave of the Machpela; not even when a bomb went off outside my dorm that didn't make it on the news because, thank God, no one was hurt and suspicious explosions were too common to bother reporting on mere property damage. I was 20 years old and, while Israel may not have been perfect, it was more perfect than any other country on Earth. 

Somewhere in my heart, Israel has continued to be my ideal country - my home away from home. Yet, in the last 20 years, as a rabbi serving Reform congregations in America, I have had to face a constituency that has not always shared my heart-eyed vision of an ideal Israel… and rightly so. Israel is not perfect or, oftentimes, even ideal. Israel has very real problems politically, socially, and spiritually. Israel has played both David and Goliath and to suggest otherwise would be naive of me. 

After the first Gaza War, I found myself unable to talk about the unpleasant reality of Israel without feeling incredibly defensive. I wanted my congregants and students to love this country as much as I did and, when they didn’t, I didn’t want to be in the conversation. When I was in Israel during the protests of 2023 over the Judicial reforms, however, I realized that I needed to be able to talk and teach about Israel the ideal AND Israel the real. This prompted my journey to pursue a Master’s in Israel Education at the George Washington University. Through this program, I have discerned my Philosophy of Israel Education and have created a number of curricula guiding my students, of all ages, to, hopefully, find a balance between an ideal and real Israel.

I am no longer avoiding the idea that Israel isn’t perfect. Just as I can love imperfect people (which, of course, we all are) I can love an imperfect Israel. My studies have helped me translate this love of the imperfect Israel into usable lesson plans on topics such as Zionism, aliyah, and Israel in social media. In fact, you may notice that love of the imperfect Israel and finding balance in our view of Israel is an ongoing theme throughout all of my academic and professional work. Reconciling an ideal and real Israel has become the primary theme in how I approach Israel education.

And throughout, I always return to my core philosophy of Israel education:

Israel education should never assume that Israel is an easy topic. Learners learn, all too quickly, that there are very negative views on Israel and on Jews who support Israel. For our Israel education to be successful, we must be able to prepare our learners for these truths by encouraging them to engage in the nuances and in the complexities of modern day Israel. Nevertheless, truly successful Israel education is predicated on the absolute truth that the Jewish people have a right to self governance and self determination and, therefore, Israel has a right to exist.