Online Resources for K-12 Israel Education: An Annotated Bibliography
“In 1901, the American Zionist Federation, a then-newly formed amalgam of Zionist groups, wrote in its constitution of the need ‘to arouse the child’s national feelings by implanting in his impressionable heart the seeds of love and patriotism’ through education.” (Breger, 2017)
Israel Education is not a new concept in the Jewish community yet it is still a forming field in the educational landscape. Prior to the 1960’s, American Jewish education was not quick to “arouse the child’s national feelings.” After the David versus Goliath-like triumph of the Six-Day War, communities throughout North America began to reconsider how Israel should be included in their educational programs and textbooks and packets on Israel began popping up in the catalogues of the Jewish publishing houses. (Breger, 2017) While the resources may have been scant, the Zionist ideal grew, yet, there were challenges to creating a deep connection to a country that was so far away. In the 1990’s, two factors began to bridge the distance:
Birthright Israel: When the 1990 National Jewish Population Survey found that 52% of Jews in America were marrying non-Jews, it caused quite a stir. A number of philanthropists got together and created a program to get young adult Jews to Israel, for little to no money, on the theory that
Visiting the Jewish nation has a profound impact in and of itself (Taglit, Our Story)
Doing so with other young adult Jews while one is beginning to couple up, will increase the likelihood that one will choose a Jewish mate (Feldman, 2011)
The proliferation of the internet: the internet has made the world feel smaller and more accessible. People can talk to others across the globe; view, in real time, the streets and landmarks of legend; and experience more directly the connective narratives of a widespread community.
Not surprisingly, with the internet, the amount and the variety of resources in Israel education exploded. Recently, there is even a growing professionalism in Israel education. (Billig, Field Analysis, 2024, pp. 9-10) Nevertheless, there is still a lack of resources for professional development on all levels as well as a lack of “sufficient resources to reach more individuals and foster long-term changes.” (Billig, 2024, p. 3)
I have had the opportunity to live through the evolution of modern Israel education in the United States. I was born in 1973, into an American Jewish community that was awash in the new Zionist ideal. I attended Jewish day school in the 80’s with Israel themed posters and programming throughout the halls and did my junior year of college in Israel just as email was becoming a possibility outside of the university system. When I was ordained from Rabbinic school, MySpace connected me to my friends in Israel but, by the time I had focused my rabbinate on education, MySpace had been replaced by Facebook and Twitter and YouTube and Instagram. I am amazed at how technology has evolved in my 52 years and overwhelmingly excited by how I can connect my students to Israel through means I could not have even dreamt of when I was a child!
Israel education today is filled with opportunities that could only have been made possible by the expensive nature of our current technology. Resources from around the world are more accessible and the ability to connect with Israelis and Israeli institutions have greatly improved our curricular offerings. In particular, technology has enhanced our library of curricular resources as well as the possibilities for more experiential Israel education and better resources for professional development in Israel education
Technology has changed from where we get our curricula on Israel education as well as how we create our curricula. For decades, we turned to the traditional Jewish educational publishing houses (Behrman House, Torah Aura, CCAR Press, JPS). Nearly all American synagogues’ education programs in every subject were shaped by a handful of curriculum writers - including their Israel education. In the last decade, this has changed greatly as more is available online from curricularists all over and from a variety of perspectives. Plus, the proliferation of resources has allowed educators, such as myself, to be more competent curricularists, tailoring a curriculum for the nuances of my community. Following are resources that have helped me to create a unique educational experience for my learners, as well as a number of resources that are new to me and I am excited to use in the future:
The “Ask Project” Gil-Shuster in 2010, while heading the Conflict Resolution master’s program at Tel Aviv University, created The Ask Project as a way to cut through the media’s interpretations of what Israelis and Palestinians believe and, rather, to go directly to people themselves. In the past 15 years, he has created over 1500 videos and shorts in which he takes his video camera and asks random people the complicated questions, such as: “what do you think of a one state solution?” (Gil-Shuster)
I have had great success using Gil-Shuster’s videos in my curriculum. Hearing what actual people think about a real issue is so important to understanding a complex issue such as life in Israel.
The Center for Israel Education is very explicit that their resources are primarily focused on Israel and not on Jewish studies or Jewish history. While most of their materials are geared towards the college level, they have a number of resources for K-12, in both formal and informal educational environments. (Stein)
This was my first exposure to the Center for Israel Education. Most of what they offer for K-12 are one off lessons; nevertheless, they are great and I can imagine being able to integrate them into my existing curriculum.
Dreams of Others is an exploration of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict through face-to-face seminars, group facilitation, and online learning. While a large piece of the program brings American learners to Israel to meet with people engaged in the conflict, the success of the program depends on the ability to meet online a number of times before and after. (Darawshe, Degani, & Weininger)
This would be a difficult program to do with my younger learners but we do a number of family trips to Israel that could include a program such as this!
The Institute for Curriculum Services has designed curricula about Israel and Judaism to align with public school standards in the United States. Their goal is that public schools around the country will offer more accurate instruction on Jews, Judaism, and Jewish history. (Elias)
The Institute is very new to me. I appreciate their mission and would love to use their mission as a text study with learners. Also, their curricula look very usable in the supplementary synagogue school setting.
Israel in the Curriculum is a toolkit created for parents and educators by the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) to help them advocate for non-biased classrooms regarding Israel. It guides professionals in the field on how to identify and manage biases with a focus on intellectual preparation for the educator. Plus, it includes a number of links to additional resources. (ADL)
I have only begun to truly explore the possibilities here as, through my research for this project, was I introduced to this website. What I find most compelling is the thought provoking questions throughout the toolkit as well as the recommended instructional resources.
IsraelLink is a for profit online curriculum on Israel based in the United States. Their goal is that learners will “integrate comprehensive knowledge about and appreciation for Israel into their Jewish identity.” (Rush)
Our congregation has been working with IsraelLink for a few years now. While we have not utilized all of their counseling services, I love their online games and breakout rooms for my preteen learners.
The Jewish Education Project, through their Educator Portal, offers a number of resources including their six-session curricular unit for supplementary school learners in 4th and 5th grades called Hatikvah: Our Hope for Israel. They have the expressed goal to “leverage technology to provide tens of thousands of educators and parents with hundreds of resources. Whether they’re planning a lesson, leading a community program, or deepening their own knowledge, we make it easier for Jewish educators and families to access curated content and collections.” (Jewish Education Project: Our Theory of Change)
I have used materials from the Jewish Education Project before but “Hatikvah: Our Hope for Israel” is a brand new curriculum that might be perfect for my 4th graders.
JTracks is an online resource for Jewish secondary schools in the United Kingdom. It offers complete curricula on Modern Jewish History, Israel Studies, and Ethical Dilemmas. The Israel Studies track was developed in partnership with The Lookstein Center at Bar Ilan University. Their focus is historical and on how history shapes our relationship with Israel today. (Lookstein)
I discovered JTracks about a year ago and have found the lessons really rich and thorough.
Making Mensches: A Periodic Table from the Foundation for Jewish Camping is an interactive, online tool for exploring Jewish values. It offers texts and media resources and fits into every Jewish subject including Israel. (Simon)
This is one of my perennial online resources. I use it in the classroom as well as for professional development.
The National Library of Israel for Educators has online, interactive lessons using primary sources from the last 100 years of Israel’s history to make the past come alive. They also offer free webinars for professional development. It is a great resource for creating a direct connection to Israel while not in Israel. (Hoffman)
I have been using a couple of the resources from the National Library of Israel for a few years.Through my research for this project, I realized how accessible and intriguing their webinars are. I am excited to start using them with my teaching staff.
Ramah Camping Movement has a virtual program bank that they call the National Ramah Israel Curriculum. There are a plethora of programs divided by age group and by topic. The lessons/programs themselves are pretty low tech, as they are built to be used at summer camp. One of the most useful resources they have is a scope and sequence for all of their Israel programs. It is fascinating to see how they imagine Zionism, Geography, Peoplehood, etc evolving from the younger grades to the older. They also highlight a handful of programs that could be well suited to learners with developmental disabilities. (Greenberg)
What is amazing to me is the mere fact that I have access to them at all; I am an educator in the Reform movement and Camp Ramah is in the Conservative movement. It is not likely that I would have even known that they were out there 30 years ago! I am excited to explore everything they have.
Schusterman Center for Israel Studies Research Guide is Brandeis University’s online repository for materials in Israeli history, politics, culture, and society. The primary sources catalogue offers links to the Israel State Archives, the National Library of Israel, and other Israel-related sources. It is the other section that is extraordinary; there one can find links to images of all of the currency of Israel; a link to a project that examines the confluence between cafés and the Jewish urban environment; a collection of haggadot (the book that contains the ritual of Passover) from the kibbutz movement; and The David Rumsey Map Collection which contains over 150,000 maps many of them representing the Middle East and Israel. (Primary Sources)
I had never explored the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies prior to now and cannot wait to start rummaging through the lesser known primary source links.
Sefaria is a free living library of Jewish texts and their interconnections. While, at first glance, it may not seem like a resource for Israel education, its applications are limitless in any Jewish adjacent field. (Septimus & Wokenfeld)
I visit Sefaria multiple times a week for a variety of reasons - sometimes only for quick reference, other times to create educational materials, and still other times to do a deep dive into whatever subject I am interested in at the moment. Especially for my older learners, I often begin lessons with Jewish text and Sefaria is the best place to find them.
Unpacked for Educators headline is, “Teach with Nuance”. The primary resource that they offer are videos - videos on Israeli history and culture, Jewish traditions and thought, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, etc. Each video comes with a summary, discussion questions, activities, reflections, and/or opportunities for further learning. The videos are clear and colorful and well suited for ages 10 and up. They are committed to offering digital resources that are easy to use. (Weissman)
I have been using Unpacked videos in my curriculum since they started popping up in my youtube feed. They really are a great way to add thick content without boring the learners.
For over a century, Israel has been one of the cornerstones of Jewish education in the United States. Up until recently, however, synagogue supplementary schools have had to rely on publishing companies for curricula and materials. This meant trusting a textbook that was created for the masses to cover the nuances of culture and politics that was inherently caught up in how each community considered their relationship to Israel. Modern technology has made accessible scads of curricula and lesson materials on Israel education. I have access to resources that would not have been available to me before. This, in turn, allows me to create a vision for Israel education that is tailor made for my synagogue and my learners. I have the option of pulling whole curricula from one site OR of piecemealing lessons from a dozen sites OR of truly creating my own lessons by taking inspiration from dozens of different resources. Plus, I have access to webinars and provoking discussions that enhance my own professional development in the field. Finally, my learners have access to videos and games and first person encounters that would have been impossible before technology made our world smaller and allowed us to be neighbors to people over 6,000 miles away!
Bibliography
ADL Education. “Israel in the Curriculum”, ADL, updated: 05.12.2025, https://www.adl.org/resources/tools-and-strategies/israel-curriculum
Billig, Shelley H. PhD. Israel Education in North America, 2023: A Landscape Analysis of the Field. Billig Consulting, January 2024, https://theicenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Mapping-Report-1.pdf
Billig, Shelley H. PhD. Field Analysis of Israel Education, 2023: Implications for Growth and Sustainability. Billig Consulting, January 2024, https://theicenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Mapping-Companion-Report-1.pdf
Breger, Sarah. “What American Jewish Children Learn About Israel”, Moment Magazine, 2017 November-December, https://momentmag.com/american-jewish-children-learn-israel/?srsltid=AfmBOopLS4gPtjk1qQI9kN0XzjSlUjv8jyXvrRIxVrerqhRqCuv-xcbS
Darawshe, Mohammad, Degani, Arnon, and Weininger, Danny. “Dreams of Others”, Makom: Israel Education Laboratory, https://www.makomisrael.org/dreams-of-others
Elias, Aliza, Kardos, Susan, and Klirs, Lior. “Curriculum: Israel & The Middle East”, Institute for Curriculum Services, https://icsresources.org/curriculum/
Feldman, Kiera. “The Romance of Birthright Israel”, The Nation, June 15, 2011, https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/romance-birthright-israel/
Gil-Shuster, Corey. “The Ask Project”, YouTube, www.youtube.com/user/coreygilshuster
Greenberg, Devorah. “National Ramah Israel Curriculum”, Ramah Camping Movement, https://www.campramah.org/israel-curriculum-home#middle
Hoffman, Shuvi. “The National Library of Israel for Educators”, The National Library of Israel, https://education-en.nli.org.il/
Lookstein Center, The. “Israel Studies”, JTracks, jtracks.org.uk/israel-studies
“Primary Sources”, Schusterman Center for Israel Studies Research Guide, Updated November 17, 2025, https://guides.library.brandeis.edu/c.php?g=1021060&p=7400867
Rush, Mina. “IsraelLink”, IsraelLINK, www.israellink.org/
Septimus, Daniel & Wokenfeld, Sara. “A Living Library of Torah”, Sefaria, www.sefaria.org/texts
Simon, Jamie, et al. “Making Mensches: A Periodic Table”, Foundation for Jewish Camp, https://jewishcamp.org/camp-resources/making-mensches/
Stein, Ken, PhD. “Curriculum/Syllabi”, Center for Israel Education, https://israeled.org/topic/israel-education/type/curriculum-syllabi/
"Our Story." About Us, Taglit Birthright Israel, https://www.birthrightisrael.com/about-us
Weissman, Noam, PhD, et al. “Unpacked for Educators”, Unpacked, https://unpacked.education/
“HaTikvah: Our Hope for Israel Curricular Unit”, The Jewish Educator Portal, Jewish Education Project, https://educator.jewishedproject.org/content/hatikvah-our-hope-israel-curricular-unit
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