Teaching Israel

What do young American Jews know about Israel? For years, I had a hunch that the answer was "not much." Even among those who come from committed, involved and affiliated families, I wasn't sure they knew much more than to say they loved and supported the Jewish state. And as you stray from the active, identified core of pro-Israel American Jews, I feared the ignorance was even greater.

In 2005, I got a grant from the Jewish Investigative Journalism Fund that enabled me to study the reality at day schools and supplemental schools across the U.S. Sometimes, you set out

A Call to Action Read the story I wrote on Israel education (click here for the full text), and then email me to share your reactions. I'd still love to hear about exceptions to the picture I painted in the story, but I think it's more likely that we can commiserate and then look for ways to improve the situation. I'm already at work on a few major undertakings that will make waves in certain communities. Let's join together to put Israel education where it belongs -- at the top of the Jewish community's agenda.

with a hypothesis in mind, and all you want to do is prove yourself right. This was not one of those times. I desperately wanted to discover that there was a huge consortium of committed educators who were ensuring that hundreds of thousands of young Jews were learning the ABCs of Israeli history and gaining deep insights into why that little country halfway around the world matters. I'd have been happy to have learned that the schools I'd encountered were exceptions to the rule, and that the general picture was bright.

Sadly, that did not happen. Instead, I discovered exactly what I'd feared: Beyond instilling a warm feeling about a mythical place called Israel, few Jewish schools are teaching Israel in any meaningful way. Instead, there's been a mad rush to "advocacy" since late 2000, but advocacy does not necessarily reside anywhere near knowledge.

To be sure, some people are doing excellent work in Israel education. Some day schools send their students to Israel for an entire semester, and the groups enjoy constant encounters with real-life Israel. Prof. Ken Stein of Emory University offers weeklong seminars on Modern Israel for Jewish educators and by all accounts the sessions are outstanding. Unfortunately, not enough of te experience finds its way into lesson plans and classroom activities.

A few years ago, New York Jewish Week editor and publisher Gary Rosenblatt launched a program that aimed to fill the void. Write On For Israel was positioned as a two-year seminar to teach high school juniors and seniors about Israel and how to advocate for it. When the program expanded to Chicago in 2004, I was eager to join the faculty. Write On is a demanding program filled with hours of lectures, lots of homework and an expectation of excellence. It's already making its mark on the community. But between New York and Chicago we reach about 50 teenagers a year. A drop in the bucket.

There's so much work to be done in this crucial sphere, and it can take place in almost any framework. See what I've been doing at Summer Camps and check out some of my current lecture topics. Or contact me with your thoughts and ideas.