Originally written March 13, 2018. Minor edits made.
I was a student at a Jewish high school. I have grown up and worked at Jewish summer camp. I have spent almost as much time at home as I have at my synagogue. I am an active member of USY. I consider Israel to be my home.
I am all of these things, and yet, until a little over a year ago, I could not name more than 2 political parties in Israel.
All my life, I have been surrounded by Israel-related education and programming. I have completed more map puzzles and World Zionist Congress reenactments than anyone I know. I can make my own pita and Israeli salad, and I can analyze and translate Hatikvah almost word-for-word. But none of these activities have truly helped me to connect to Israel on more than a shallow level and have even hindered my understanding of the country as a whole.
There is only one explanation for the one-sided experiences that have cluttered my lifetime of Jewish education. “Getting political” has developed such a negative connotation that there is almost no one willing to step close enough to controversy in return for a more meaningful experience. By avoiding these discussions about politics, leadership, and other controversial decisions, we are doing nothing for ourselves but harm. Israel has, whether intentionally or not, been turned into little more than a talking point with catchy music.
Israel is a controversial topic among American Jews. Groups such as AIPAC and J Street seem to represent the whole of American Jewry’s views on Israel, always working in opposition to one another; conservative and more religious Jews tend to defend Israel’s every move, while those that are more liberal categorically oppose its politics. These lines drawn in the sand make it impossible to connect with those of other beliefs in a constructive way, therefore making the divide within American Jewry stronger.
The conflicts surrounding Israel cannot simply be ignored. By avoiding the issues faced by Israel today, we stand no chance of coming close to a solution that benefits either side, thus subjecting ourselves to an endless cycle of uneducated problem-solvers making no progress. By expanding education on the conflict in any place we can, we increase our chances of reaching a compromise.
Many will argue that we are, in fact, teaching our students under the guise of a “non-partisan education”. However, this is merely an excuse to avoid opinions of any kind. If we are to be thinking deeply about Israel from a multifaceted lens, shouldn’t we be sharing our opinions with one another? What better way is there to learn about other people’s ideas than hearing them firsthand?
It is unfair to restrict ourselves to years of learning about the First Zionist Congress. Yes, this event was of significant historical importance to the establishment of the State of Israel, but there is little justification I can find for reenacting this meeting in nearly every Israel education setting. What if we took less time relearning material and instead spent it trying to tastefully navigate our thoughts on Israel’s political climate? What if, instead of learning about the translation of Hatikvah, we looked at Rav Kook’s proposal for a more religiously-themed anthem? What if, rather than making cookies shaped like Israel, we learned about what checkpoints are? Any of these exercises would better prepare us for real-life encounters with people of other opinions on Israel, and yet none of them seem to be in the programming vocabulary of the majority of Jewish educators.
These programs could be the central base of Israel education in every setting, not just Jewish ones, yet we as a community lack the willpower to break through the glass ceiling and put it into action. We as a Jewish community need to be spreading detailed Israel education topics throughout our world if we want any shot at making a change. We need to show the world that “getting political” isn’t a bad thing.
If we learn about it, politics can change our world.
