Originally featured in Jewish Educational Leadership, Fall 2024
Outlining the problem
For many educators, teaching about Israel has never been so challenging. The emotionally charged nature of the discussion, attitudes on Israel dovetailing with political affiliations, and educators’ fears of facing backlash from parents and the community, are all reasons for why teachers are reluctant to address Israel in the classroom.
This is further complicated when considering the generational gap surrounding Israel in our communities. While previous generations saw Israel as the country of miracles and the underdog in the Arab-Israeli conflict, many in the younger generation see Israel as the aggressor in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and feel conflicted over support for Israel.
It is also increasingly difficult to engage our students in constructive discussions around Israel when their model for dialogue is often the polarized world of social media.
How should educators approach teaching Israel and Zionism in a way that can appeal to today’s generation of students? Here, we explore five suggestions for how to lean into these challenges, bringing nuance and intentionality to your teaching, and connection and identity building to your students.
1. Proactive Israel education
Our students need a deep understanding of Jewish and Israeli history in order to be able to tell Israel’s story. We’ve found often that when implementing pre-assessments in different Jewish day schools, students will rank extremely high on their connection with Israel, but then be unable to answer specific content questions, such as, “What is Zionism?” Our role is to bridge this gap between connection and content surrounding Israel. How many of our students have heard of the Titanic but not the Altalena? Can our students identify Gaza, the West Bank, and flashpoints in the north and south on a map of Israel?
In order for our young people to have serious conversations about Israel, they need to know its history. They need to know about the Jewish connection to the land of Israel, the different types of Zionism, and the different challenges Mizrahi Jews and other immigrant groups faced when immigrating to Israel and integrating into Israeli society. We need to highlight the debates of early Zionist leaders over the purpose of a Jewish state and demonstrate to our students how these discussions are still relevant today.
This requires a proactive approach to Israel education, setting aside time in our curriculum for serious Israel education, so that we are not reacting in moments of crisis to fill in gaps in our students’ knowledge but rather, putting in the work to cultivate a deep connection with Israel from the start. What are the most important Zionist moments that our students need to know? Who are the most important Zionist personalities and thinkers that they should be familiar with? Let’s take the time to intentionally think about what we want our students to know, feel, and be able to do regarding Israel.
2. Sharing multiple narratives
Many Jewish day school alumni have felt deeply frustrated with their Israel education, finding it overly simplistic and failing to portray an accurate representation of the complex reality in Israel today. While Israel education must include celebrating Israel’s achievements, this should not come at the expense of debate and critical thinking around nuanced issues in Israel’s history and society today.
While our students should learn about and celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut as one of the most inspiring moments in Jewish history, it’s also important for them to understand that Palestinians view Israel’s establishment as the Nakba (Catastrophe). When discussing the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, students should be aware of how both Israelis and Palestinians view each other as peace partners and the complexities that exist within each population. Israel educators must not only teach students that Jews are indigenous to the Land of Israel, but that both Israelis and Palestinians claim the same geographic area as their homeland.
By incorporating more balanced and honest discussions about Israel’s challenges and realities, Israel educators can foster a more robust understanding and appreciation of Israel. Such an approach not only prevents feelings of betrayal when they encounter opposing views or contradicting evidence on social media or on university campuses but also deepens their connection and love for Israel, recognizing its strengths and acknowledging its struggles.
Modeling skills with our students, such as learning to ask, “is this telling the whole story,” distinguishing between narrative and fact, acknowledging our bias and recognizing it with others, and cultivating empathy are crucial to preparing them for the discourse they will encounter in the future.
3. Taking a Mikraot Gedolot approach
Our colleague, Dr. Noam Weissman, makes the argument for a “Mikraot Gedolot” approach to Israel education. Just as a volume of Mikraot Gedolot contains a wide range of different biblical commentators with diverse opinions, a similar model should be applied to Israel education.
The Mikraot Gedolot approach includes a diversity of perspectives, presenting that there are rarely only “two sides of a coin” for any complex issue. This approach recognizes that we cannot leave out the perspectives that challenge us.
Giving our students the opportunity to develop and share an opinion on the debates taking place throughout Israeli society on issues related to Zionism, the conflict, religion and state, and Israel’s future is a great tool.
Educators should teach their students the perspectives of diverse thinkers, historians, and academics across Israeli society. Teach about the diversity of Zionist thought, including Theodor Herzl’s Political Zionism, Ze’ev Jabotinsky’s Revisionist Zionism, Rav Kook’s Religious Zionism, and Ahad Ha’am’s Cultural Zionism.
Teachers can also share the vast range of opinions that exist within Israeli society surrounding current events in Israel. Should Israel prioritize the destruction of Hamas or the return of the hostages? Should the IDF forcibly enlist Haredi Israelis or work together with the Haredi community to find a compromise? Are targeted assassinations an effective tool to combat terror or do they only enlarge the conflict?
Through focusing on Israeli internal issues, students will appreciate the range of perspectives that exist within Israeli society, and that all of these are included under the umbrella of Zionism. By exposing our students to how modern Israeli thinkers and intellectuals such as Micah Goodman, Yossi Klein HaLevi, Einat Wilf, and Ruth Calderon disagree about the identity and future of the Jewish state, we empower our students to develop their own opinions on these crucial issues.
Finally, what a Mikraot Gedolot approach looks like will be different for every school. Each school will have its own comfort level surrounding the discourse around Israel and which perspectives fall within the bounds of the Zionist debate or cross the school’s red lines.
4. Modeling Difficult Conversations
Conversations aren’t the same as they used to be. In our current hyper-polarized and hyper-siloed political atmosphere, we need to actually teach our students how to listen and speak with each other.
In order to ensure that our students feel that they have a voice and are respected for their different viewpoints, we need to set appropriate group norms that encourage good-faith conversations and empathy. We need to model how to have difficult conversations while demonstrating how to disagree strongly but respectfully.
Instead of reasoning looking like defensive combat, it should look more like mapmaking. That means that when someone makes a point that indicates that we may be wrong, we should not interpret that as suffering a defeat, but rather, that we need to revise our map. Instead of seeking out evidence to fortify and defend our preconceived notions and beliefs, let’s seek out evidence to ensure that our map is more accurate, to seek for truth, and to lead with curiosity. Giving students the tools to be able to have these courageous conversations which showcase the complexity taking place in Israel ultimately gives them more of a voice at the table. Ultimately, this empowers our students to further strengthen their connection with their homeland, irrespective of their political leanings.
5. Teacher training and support
Finally, in order to achieve these goals, schools need to take steps to support educators teaching about Israel. Educators are often hesitant about implementing a more nuanced approach, out of fear that opening up complex discussions about Israel could lead students to turn away from Israel and Zionism.
Educators may feel vulnerable not knowing what to do when a student shares an opinion questioning Israel’s actions or legitimacy. Teachers may also be nervous about possible repercussions from parents and administrators.
To address these concerns, educators can learn from alumni about how these types of conversations help prepare them for encountering the “real” Israel, embracing both Israel’s strengths and flaws, which ultimately strengthens their relationship with the Jewish state.
Additionally, schools must recognize that not every teacher is comfortable leading nuanced class discussions. Many teachers would benefit from training, good mentorship, high-quality resources, and access to a larger community of Israel educators grappling with the same issues. Having a peer group to turn to for brainstorming challenges, designing lessons, and hearing different approaches to teaching Israel is essential to educator success.
Finally, more effort should be made to convene Israel educators together in larger gatherings and conferences around teaching Israel. By bringing educators together to hear from experts in the field and collaborate with each other, they will leave reinspired about why they teach about Israel and equipped with the tools they need to succeed. This will do wonders to infuse energy and excitement back into our schools around Israel education.
It’s important that we all remember that we are not alone during these unprecedented times, and it’s more imperative than ever to proudly lean on each other to share our story of faith, hope, and resilience.
