A new tool to foster Jewish identity in the Diaspora: Israel education

A diverse group of educators from Israel, the United States and other countries participated in the conference, from Chabad rabbis to female rabbis, from young informal educators to the head of the largest network of Jewish day schools in the US, as well as principals of schools in Argentina and Uruguay. “The idea is to develop a curricula and ‘textpeople,’ rather than textbooks,” Breakstone said. “For Israel education to be effective we need a larger number of professionals working in the field to serve as intermediaries between the Jewish state and young people abroad.”

Through dialogue, lectures and field experiences the conference aims to provide educators with practical tools to impart to their students and communities. One such tool stemming from the conference is the establishment of the first professional network of Israel educators. “A lot of Israel educators feel isolated out in the field, they don’t have a support network, or access to resources,” said Breakstone. “This will enable them to share best practices, share curriculums, articles – this will be a tremendous boost to the field.”

Other themes discussed at the conference included understanding the Israel educator’s identity, the language and terminology used in building Jewish narratives, the place of Israel and Judaism in education, and collaboration in Israel education among Jewish educators and institutions worldwide. “We are in the midst of an historic paradigm change in terms of the place of Israel within Jewish education, Jewish identity and this is a really exciting path,” said Anne Lanski, executive director of the iCenter.

According to Lanski, students and educators alike face a new era of education and identity development. The notion of experiential learning, a powerful and relatively new tool, through endeavors such as Birthright-Taglit has enabled hundreds of thousands of students to experience Israel and strengthen their Jewish identity.

“We are in a time where the WZO, the Jewish Agency, the government of Israel and the philanthropic world are committed to a vibrant future, with a language and a vision that isn’t about reacting to survival but being proactive to creating a generation and a future that is going to flourish,” she said.

Lidar Grave-Lazi