Section archive - Israel Education

Israel education is rooted in a cultural approach, which focuses on the role of social contexts and dynamics in education. Immersive environments are settings, which can influence attitudes by virtue of their synergistic nature. Connectedness refers to social linkages created by social networks. Virtual communities offer opportunities for enhancing an immersive approach to Israel education. The Israel experience is a significantly new Jewish educational framework. As in all education, the educator is a seminal force in the realization of the educational vision. This chapter focuses on the creation of a socio-cultural framework for Israel education. We examine several ideas about culture and context as threads which when woven together form the tapestry that we call “a culture of Israel education”.

This comparative case study examines how the intractable Arab-Israeli conflict influences teaching and learning in three Jewish day high schools in the US representing three different populations: Yeshiva High (Orthodox), Conservative High (Conservative), and Community High (pluralistic). Three research questions guided the work: What do students learn about the Arab-Israeli conflict and why? How do teachers’, students’, and the schools’ cultural, pedagogical, and/or ideological commitments regarding Israel impinge on the Israel curriculum presented in the classroom? How do teachers and students manage and respond to classroom discussions about controversial Israeli issues? The literature that informs this study derives from research on the teaching and learning of controversial issues and from the idea of intractable conflict, which occupies a central place in Israeli society. Data was gathered over a year-and-a-half of fieldwork, which involved classroom observations, multiple teacher and student interviews, and the collection of instructional materials.

At the risk of stating the obvious, there is one proven solution to creating a solid foundation for a lifetime of engagement: spending months living, studying and working in Israel. Over the course of 12 years leading the field of top immersive international experiences in Israel, we have learned some important lessons. Namely, that the firsthand encounter with day-to-day life in Israel, which can only be attained by being on the ground for a sustained, continuous amount of time, makes all the difference to MASA's 120,000 alumni around the world.

Yedida Bessemer asked eJP readers to think about what excellent Israel education looks like and called for field-wide standards and benchmarks to determine whether efforts are effective. We at the iCenter want to share our experience from seven years of building this field and working closely with schools, camps, synagogues, Israel travel experiences, and other educational and communal settings to help learners, in any environment, develop meaningful relationships with Israel, the land, and its people. While much work lies ahead, we offer a range of approaches, resources, specific programs, and more from which educators can draw so that all kinds of learners – regardless of personal interests, level of previous knowledge, Hebrew language skills, travel in Israel, or other factors – will engage in outstanding Israel learning experiences.