In 2023, I had the opportunity to learn from the Israel educator and researcher, Sivan Zakai. She spoke about the glue and scissors effect Israel has had on the American Jewish community: “In Diaspora Jewish life and Jewish education, Israel has functioned both like glue and like scissors, simultaneously uniting and dividing.” (S. Zakai, live lecture, June 26, 2023) In her estimation this has been true for every era since the rise of modern Zionism except for one: the decade following the 1967 war. Rather, in this period, “a new purpose for Israel education began to emerge: promoting American Jewish love of Israel.” (Zakai, 2014) It just so happens that I was born during this golden era of American Jewish love of Israel and that has, no doubt, greatly influenced my relationship to Israel.
Nevertheless, throughout my life I have had to come to terms with an Israel that is not always lovely. Plus, in recent years, the scissors effect Israel has had on the American Jewish community has been overwhelming at times. My work in the George Washington University’s Master’s in Israel Education has given me time, space, and countless invaluable resources for processing how to be in a conversation about Israel that honors the “heart-eyed” idealism of my youth and takes seriously the messiness of the modern State of Israel. As an Israel educator, this is my goal for my learners, as well: to offer them time, space, and guidance so that they might be able to reconcile an ideal Israel with the realities of Israel. To do this, Israel education must lay a groundwork for relationship with Israel as a global community and as a modern state. It must replace simplistic narratives with nuance, fostering a resilient connection to an imperfect, authentic Jewish nation.
Israel is not an easy topic for most people today. Even those of us who maintain a deep-seeded love for Zionism and the Jewish state are tempted to throw up our hands when we hear of this action or that action that the Israeli government has taken (or not taken). One side cries foul at the Judiciary Review the other side cries foul at forcing yeshiva students to serve in the army. Even amongst the most dedicated Jews, everyone has something for which they can rail against Israel! Perhaps, however, we can find common ground in a shared understanding in the absolute right of the Jewish people to self-governance and self-determination and, therefore, in Israel’s right to exist. Personally, I have been working hard on moving away from defensive advocacy and towards an acceptance of multiple narratives. I have offered my learners the language of “yes, and” in the hopes that they will consider other points of views and, just as important, that they will take their own view seriously. My goal is that they will be able to disagree with others without having to tear themselves or each other down. This has always been a hallmark of Reform movement philosophy - stemming from one of our core values: choice through knowledge. Ultimately, we need to craft our own path through the Jewish landscape, including how each one of us relates to Israel; the more knowledge I can give my learners, however, the more equipped they will be to make choices about this relationship and the easier it will be for them to navigate difficult conversations down the road.
Over the course of the last two years,
Bibliography
Zakai, S. (2014). “My Heart Is in the East and I Am in the West”: Enduring Questions of Israel Education in North America. Journal of Jewish Education, 80(3), 287–318. https://doi.org/10.1080/15244113.2014.937192
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