A ‘HAPPILY EVER AFTER’ IS-REAL?

By Rebecca Lewis

Growing up in the U.K. my experience with Israel education was utopic; just like Cinderella and Snow White, Israel had a fairy-tale story.

Once upon a time lived a girl named Israel. Her life was sad, she had no independence. One day, a knight in shining armor, Herzl, joined by his army, the Zionists, came to save Israel. From that day on, Israel became the most popular girl in all the land—everybody loved her. Israel and all her friends lived happily ever after. The End.

Of course, I now realize just how damaging this approach to Israel education is. With negative rhetoric surrounding Israel often hijacking many news outlets and social discourse in the U.K. and other Western societies, some Israel educators feel a responsibility to present a utopian narrative in order to encourage young Jewish people to build a meaningful relationship with the State of Israel. However, in doing so, this completely ignores the nuances, complexity and sensitive topics surrounding the Jewish state. It also means that any relationship between a young person and Israel that is formed is shallow, unsubstantiated and delicate.  By shying away from the central theme–Israel–and replacing it with an artificial fantasy, Israel educators are stunting the ability for meaningful conversations, pragmatic solutions to difficult questions and, to put it bluntly, feeding their students a delusional and harmful narrative. Israel education cannot be treated as a simple matter; Israel is multifaceted. It is the educator’s duty to explore and confront the different layers surrounding Israel education. However, this is far easier said than done, and now, as an educator myself, I am still understanding the best methods and practices to ensure that young Jewish people are exploring the nuances regarding Israel Education, whilst also supporting them in forming a meaningful relationship with Israel.

View full article on eJewish Philanthropy.

Rebecca Lewis is the U.K. program coordinator of Diller Teen Fellows. She is currently a participant in The iCenter’s graduate degree in Israel education program at George Washington University.