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Israel Education
A Burning Campus? Rethinking Israel Advocacy at America’s Universities and Colleges Featured
As the professional leaders of an organization that works to support Israel on campus, we are often
asked by other Israel supporters if the pro-Israel community is winning or losing the battle on
campus for Israel. Our answer is it depends on which battle you are talking about.
We are winning one battle but losing the other.
The pro-Israel community’s battle in much of the rest of the world, where Israel is mostly unpopular,
is to halt efforts to turn Israel into an international pariah akin to apartheid South Africa. Our battle
in the U.S., however, where Israel is mostly popular, is to maintain long-term two party support. It’s
not good enough that we stop the U.S. from becoming anti-Israel. We have to make sure the U.S.
remains pro-Israel, which is a much taller task.
Our primary task on campus is not to fight the anti-Isr ...
- Research Reports and Studies
JETS (Jerusalem EdTech Solutions) Featured
JETS (Jerusalem EdTech Solutions) was founded by former North American Jewish educators currently living in Israel who combine to bring a wealth of experience in Jewish studies instruction, curriculum development, and staff development, along with a deep understanding of North American Jewish and general education. In addition, the Jerusalem location of JETS provides access to educational materials and methodologies developed in the vast Jewish educational infrastructure in Israel, the opportunity for on-site development to bring Israel into Diaspora classrooms and communities, and contact with a significant pool of capable former Diaspora Jewish educators who have moved to Israel.
- Organizations
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- Interactive Resources
- Video
12Tribe Films Foundation
12Tribe Films Foundation ("12Tribe Films") is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting creative projects about the Jewish people and the land of Israel that connect, entertain, and inspire. As the name of the organization suggests, our creative projects address Jewish issues, with a greater focus on the Jewish values that connect us as a whole. While the projects of 12Tribe Films address religious, political, sociological, and current events effecting Israel and the Jewish people, our goal is to be an informative and educational resource that focuses on the underlying Jewish values and human experiences beneath the issues.
We specialize in providing movies and cultural programs that show a side of the Jewish and Israeli narrative that receives little attention in the public discourse today. Whether you're with an organization, synagogue, temple, camp, or community ...
- Organizations - National and International Organizations
- Databases and Resource Centers
- Video
Action Research: Enhancing the Zionist Identity of a School
Rabbi Lee Buckman is Founding Head of School at the Frankel Jewish Academy of Metro Detroit. In this article, he investigates the effectiveness of programming on increasing student awareness of the school's Zionist ethos.
- Articles
- Journals
- Research Reports and Studies
After Birthright Israel: Finding and Seeking Young Adult Jewish Community
This research report from Brandeis University's Steinhardt Social Research Institute examines the post-trip experiences of Taglit-Birthright Israel alumni, focusing on four themes crucial to understanding and increasing post-trip engagement: the problem of recruitment into programs, the importance of peer networks, the dynamics of organizational engagement, and the demand for young adult Jewish community. The report offers recommendations for extending the Birthright Israel experience.
Agenda: Jewish Education: Educator Recruitment and Retention
The challenge of recruiting, nurturing and retaining enough knowledgeable, dynamic, talented and skillful educators for our day schools, congregations, youth and informal education programs, Jewish early childhood, and family and adult education programs has confounded the North American Jewish community for decades. The most recent edition of Agenda: Jewish Education features a number of articles on the topic of educator recruitment and retention. Articles range from Research Questions to Policy Questions, to Voices from the Field, to a Visionary Piece and much more. Read what Cheryl Finkel and Joe Reimer said during a conversation moderated by Arnee Winshall, co-chair of the Summit. Other noted contributors to this issue are Laura Lauder, Isa Aron, Carol Schechter, Ron Wolf ...
- Newsletters - Agenda: Jewish Education
Agenda: Jewish Education: Israel Education
The issue devoted to Israel education features articles on the place of Israel in North American Jewish Education, Israel Education on the College Campus, the Israel Experience (or eX-perience), and innovative Israel Education program.
The Agenda Setter suggests ways to use the articles in the issue to stimulate discussions in communities and educational settings.
Agenda: Jewish Education: Israel Education (1.13 MB)
- Newsletters - Agenda: Jewish Education
B'TSELEM - The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories
B'TSELEM - The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories was established in 1989 by a group of prominent academics, attorneys, journalists, and Knesset members. It endeavors to document and educate the Israeli public and policymakers about human rights violations in the Occupied Territories, combat the phenomenon of denial prevalent among the Israeli public, and help create a human rights culture in Israel.
B'Tselem in Hebrew literally means "in the image of," and is also used as a synonym for human dignity. The word is taken from Genesis 1:27, "And God created humans in his image. In the image of God did He create him." It is in this spirit that the first article of the Universal ...
- Organizations - National and International Organizations
Beyond Distancing: Young Adult American Jews and Their Alienation from Israel
This study explores the connection 21-35 year olds have to Israel. It may have important implications for Jewish education and the way we teach about Israel.
- Research Reports and Studies
Brandeis University’s Summer Institute for Israel Studies: The First Four Years
- Research Reports and Studies
Building MASA: An Analysis of the U.S. Market for Long-Term Programs in Israel
A report commissioned by MASA, a program that aims to encourage Diaspora young adults to spend a semester or year in Israel as part of an Israel experience program. The report focuses on the views of young adults and their parents regarding long-term study in Israel and specific preferences regarding Israel experience programs. Views regarding MASA’s marketing strategy, as well as its incentives to encourage participation in its affiliated programs, are also examined.
Building MASA: An Analysis of the U.S. Market for Long-Term Programs in Israel (Link)
- Research Reports and Studies
Connecting Diaspora Young Adults to Israel: Lessons from Taglit-Birthright Israel
A presentation by Dr. Leonard Saxe to the 8th Annual Herzliya Conference on the connection of young adults to Israel and the relevant lessons learned from Taglit-Birthright Israel. Connecting Diaspora Young Adults to Israel: Lessons from Taglit-Birthright Israel (Link)
- Presentations
- Research Reports and Studies
Creating Models of Engagement with Israel
This project is a venture shared by the Melton Centre for Jewish Education, the Zionist Federation of Australia, the Jewish Agency and the Pincus Fund. The objective of this project is to develop new strategies for teaching Israel in the formal Jewish education system in Australia. Nine schools (5 in Melbourne, 3 in Sydney and 1 in Perth) are involved and each one is writing either one or two new “Israel Education” courses to be implemented during the course of 2007.
- Programs and Initiatives
Encountering the Other, Finding Oneself: The Taglit-Birthright Israel Mifgash
Israel Experience trips-and Taglit-Birthright Israel trips in particular- increasingly include a substantial mifgash-an "encounter" between the Diaspora Jewish visitors and Israeli peers. The aim of the present report is to improve understanding of the formal and informal components of the mifgash, as well as the significance of the experience for North American and Israeli participants. The report and accompanying survey frequencies are available in Hebrew and English. Encountering the Other (Link)
- Research Reports and Studies
Eyes on Israel
“Eyes on Israel” is a free curriculum for middle school and high school students created by CAMERA (the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America) to help students develop a critical approach towards what they see, read and hear about Israel in the media. One of the chief goals of the curriculum is to allow learners to explore media “texts” (articles, radio and television broadcasts, Web sites) and historical facts in such a way as to encourage insight about the nature of the Middle East conflict and the way in which it is rendered by the media.
“Eyes” consists of four modules of lesson plans which can be used sequentially or independently of each other, depending on a teacher’s time constraints and interests. The four modules are:
- Journalism and its Responsibilities
- U.N. Resolution 242: A Case-Study in Media Coverage
- What You ...Publication Date2007Resource Type
- Databases and Resource Centers - Curriculum Banks - Israel Curriculum
Eyes on Israel: A Curriculum on Israel and the Media (Journal Article)
This article from The Lookstein Center's Journal of Jewish Educational Leadership is a study of the Eyes on Israel curriculum, which is free to schools and other educational institutions.
Researchers may differ on how much the news media influences individuals, but few would dispute that public perception is shaped substantially by journalistic reporting of events. Israel’s struggle for survival and acceptance as a legitimate, sovereign nation in a turbulent region is perceived by most Americans through the lens of the media. For 25 years the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) has been at the forefront of examining, and alerting others to, the role of the media in covering the Arab-Israeli conflict. Educators and other community leaders have contacted the organization with reques ...
- Articles
- Journals
- Databases and Resource Centers - Curriculum Banks - Israel Curriculum
IKAR
The goals of IKAR are threefold: to help create a sense of connection to Israel among high-school aged students; to give the students a sense of confidence in speaking about Israel; and to help students develop tools to stand up for Israel in sometimes hostile environments if they so choose. IKAR is structured as a set of flexible modules that can be used together or separately in 2-4 hour workshops—it is intended for formal and informal Jewish educational settings. It includes a teacher’s guide complete with lesson plans, lecture materials, visual aids, handouts that can be reproduced for students, and suggested activities. In addition to familiarizing students with the current debates surrounding Israel and with themes of Israeli history, IKAR also focuses on developing speaking and presentation skills, and on involving students actively in the process of questioning and ...
- Programs and Initiatives
- Databases and Resource Centers - Curriculum Banks - Israel Curriculum
Israel Book Shop
A Jewish online bookstore, featuring Jewish books, textbooks, gifts, and more. Ships internationally.
- Books
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- Reference
Israel Center of San Francisco
The Israel Center of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties provides a cultural bridge, connecting Bay Area Jews with their counterparts in Israel. Through encounters with ideas and individuals, our Jewish community is touched and enriched.
- Organizations
- Programs and Initiatives
Israel Connections and American Jews
Report 12 in the UJC Series on the National Jewish Population Survey 2000-01. This report assesses the connections between American Jews and Israel in two ways. First, it looks at Israel visits -- what percent of U.S. Jews have ever visited, how many visits they have made, for how long they have stayed, and whether these visits were under Jewish organizational auspices. It also describes perceived obstacles to visiting. Second, the report examines American Jewish attitudes and emotional attachments toward Israel. Overall percentages for Israel connections are provided, followed by a detailed analysis of how these attachments vary by age, region, secular education, denomination, affiliation and in-marriage/intermarriage. A final section highlights key policy implications of the findings for the Jewish communal system.