Unpacking Israel Education is a practitioner journal for Israel educators published by Unpacked for Educators (an OpenDor Media brand). This journal is devoted specifically to Israel education, filling a gap that has long existed between the conversations happening in educators’ classrooms and the broader field.
The journal creates a dedicated home for four kinds of contributions: (1) a creative or innovative approach to teaching Israel, (2) a challenge navigated in the classroom, with takeaways useful to others, (3) a piece of reflective practice on trends or patterns an educator has observed through student work and responses, and (4) application of significant academic work into the practical language of the classroom.
Unpacking Israel Education is published annually. It exists to surface the collective wisdom of experienced Israel educators, and to make that wisdom durable, shareable, and available to the field.
Unpacking Israel Education is a journal of practitioner research and reflection geared toward Jewish education professionals in a variety of settings. Articles should be non-academic, grounded in classroom experience, and of direct use to other educators.
Proposals: Prospective authors are asked to submit a proposal of 150–250 words describing the main topic and the key questions the article will explore.
Proposals should identify one of the following categories:
(1) a creative or innovative approach to teaching Israel,
(2) a challenge navigated in the classroom, with takeaways useful to others,
(3) trends or patterns in the Israel education field an educator has noticed across their teaching, and
(4) translations of significant academic work into the practical language of the classroom. Proposals are due on Thursday, August 13.
Accepted articles: Invited articles should be 750–1,500 words. Authors bear full responsibility for the accuracy of citations, quotations, figures, and facts. The journal aims to publish its first issue in the spring of 2027.
We understand that AI tools are shaping how people think and write about teaching and learning. We welcome the use of AI for brainstorming for proposals, editing, and proofreading. AI cannot be used for writing or generating core ideas. Authors are responsible for their own work. The journal reserves the right to reject an article that is not in compliance with the AI policy. When in doubt, authors are encouraged to ask the journal editors for clarification.
Submit the proposal to jgolden@unpacked.education
At Unpacked for Educators, Jonathan leads our professional development course offerings for educators and schools. A skilled teacher coach, his expertise lies in guiding schools to integrate Israel education holistically across grades and subjects. He drives UED’s growing work with Jewish camps and presents regularly at conferences for both Unpacked for Educators and ConnectED.
Jonathan is also the Founder of HeartStance Education Consulting and teaches at Hebrew College in Boston and for the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America. Previously, he served as Israel Curriculum Coordinator and a history teacher at Gann Academy in Waltham, MA, from 1999 to 2023. A graduate of Princeton University, he received his M.J.Ed. from Hebrew College and Ph.D. from Brandeis University, where he studied American Jewish history under Professor Jonathan Sarna.
Dr. Benji Davis is an American-born Israeli scholar and educator. He is Assistant Professor of Jewish Education at Yeshiva University’s Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, and in the summer he serves as head of Israel education at Camp Yavneh. He is also the founding director of IMPACT Israel Education and previously served as the 2024–2025 Israel Institute Teaching and Research Fellow at George Mason University. In 2024, he received the Harold Wechsler Award for Emerging Scholars from the Network for Research in Jewish Education (NRJE) for his research on teaching about Israel. Benji lives in Jerusalem with his wife, Rachel, and their three daughters, Maia, Ella, and Lia.
Matt is Senior Project Lead at Rosov Consulting, where he works on projects exploring how Israel is taught, learned, and experienced in day schools, camps, and digital media. He previously chaired the Jewish History department at TanenbaumCHAT, and has published four books on Jewish and Israeli comics along with dozens of peer-reviewed articles. He co-edited Teaching Israel: Studies of Pedagogy from the Field and edited Education after October 7. Matt holds a Ph.D. from York University, serves as associate editor of the Journal of Jewish Education, and lives in Toronto with his family.
Sivan Zakai is a scholar, teacher educator, and educational consultant. She serves as the Sara S. Lee Professor of Jewish Education at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. In addition to directing the Children’s Learning About Israel Project and co-directing both Project ORLIE: Research and Leadership in Israel Education and the Learning and Teaching about What Matters Project, Sivan serves as an associate editor of the Journal of Jewish Education and as a member of the faculty at the Mandel Teacher Educator Institute. Her books include My Second-Favorite Country: How American Jewish Children Think about Israel and Teaching Israel: Studies of Pedagogy from the Field.
Dr. Keren E. Fraiman is Spertus Institute’s Vice President and Chief Academic Officer and Professor of Israel Studies. She previously directed Research and Evaluation at The iCenter for Israel Education and served as an officer in the IDF. She holds a PhD in International Relations and Security Studies from MIT and a BA from the University of Chicago. In 2025, she won the Ilia Salita Excellence in Applied Research Award for her work on conflict education in Jewish settings, and she’s a former Wexner Field Fellow and Schusterman Israel Scholar.
