Loving Israel: What Does it Mean Today?

The Hovevai Zion were among the earliest Zionist but now that we have achieved what they barely were able to dream of, what does it mean to be a lover of Israel. Dr. Lisa Grant Associate Professor of Jewish Education on the New York campus is our guest blogger this week. Drawing on her extensive work in Israel education and her own personal experiences, she shares some reflections on what loving Israel today.

Israel has been an integral part of my life since childhood. For almost 39 years, I have had an immediate family presence there, first my parents for over 34 years and then my daughter for almost five.  I’ve lived there as well, for longish stretches at three different times in my life, and I visit regularly to see family and friends, to work with colleagues, to conduct research and to teach.  Having meaningful ongoing encounters with people, places and memories in Israel is an essential part of who I am as a human being and a Jew. There’s no doubt that I love Israel. It’s personal.  It’s in my bones.

My love of Israel grows out of my deep and abiding commitment to the Jewish People and collective Jewish life.  Israel is infused in symbols, actions, beliefs, and expressions of collective Jewish belonging.  Simply put, it’s impossible for me to imagine being a Jew without a relationship to the multiple dimensions of am, Torah, eretz, and medinat Yisrael.

But, loving Israel is complicated. Throughout my life, I’ve grappled with the politics and tried to understand the contours of the many competing and contentious social, cultural, economic, historical, ethnic tensions that make up the complex weave of contemporary Israeli life.  Israel is a place of wonder and inspiration, where the ongoing story of the Jewish people plays out every day.  And it is also a divisive, overly sectarian place that far too often wallows in and is paralyzed by its history, and seems all too often willing to abdicate moral responsibility in the self-righteous name of security.

As an educator, I often think about what my job is in teaching Israel.  I do not believe that the starting point is love. Rather, I think we need a new paradigm for teaching about Israel.  Too often, we rely on the “myth and miracle” narrative of Israel to foster a romantic notion of a heroic place. Yet, the day-to-day reality is far removed from this and a relationship built on myth is likely to crumble in the face of a much more complicated reality.  Nonetheless, many educators avoid grappling with confusing complexities that they themselves are uncertain about and that they fear will distance learners and undermine formation of a strong Jewish identity.   Ironically though, a case can also be made that approaches to Israel education that promote and perhaps even demand an unreflective love, may have the opposite effect, leaving Israel as a superficial, peripheral and even alienating aspect of American Jewish life.

A new paradigm for Israel education begins with a stance of critical engagement.  Love is not the starting point but is the ultimate goal – not a naïve and unreflective love, but rather a mature love that can endure even in the face of missteps and imperfection. Cultivating this type of love requires deep engagement with the complex and rich dimensions of Israel as a land, people, and state. More importantly, it requires a commitment to the Jewish collective enterprise of building a shared future that celebrates our diversity of stories, experiences, beliefs, and practices, and that contributes to a thriving Jewish People and a better world.  That’s the foundation of my love of Israel, of Judaism, and the Jewish People.  Each is an inseparable thread in the tapestry that gives my life shape, purpose, and meaning.

Thoughtful Israel Engagement

Solemn ceremonies. Joyous celebrations. Introspection. Advocacy.

Long gone are the days when marking Yom Hazikaron, Yom Haatzmaut, and later Yom Yerushalyim were marked with relative ease. Political complexities both in the United States and Israel complicate our ability to talk about Israel. Facilitating conversations about Israel demands the ability to hold on to multiple narratives about Israel’s past and present. It means allowing different opinions but demanding civility. Additionally, it can be challenging to know how to interpret the myriad of news stories about Israel that come to us through traditional and new media sources.

One of my favorite resources for engaging with Israel is the collaboration between the Haaretz newspaper and Makom. Mokom is a relatively newcomer to the Israel education scene. Based in Israel, it specializes in helping those living in North America connect with Israeli culture and current events. The organization promotes questioning and discussion on all elements of Jewish life but provides particular focus on the arts and on challenging contemporary issues. The collaborative Haaretz and Makom site combines the headline news with opinion pieces, arts commentaries, and forum for discussion.

Jewish professionals will find the vast array of educational resources of great interest and use. There are film guides, text studies and book group guides. For example, Makom has collaborated with the UJA Federation of New York to create a booklet for chevrutah study on the words L’hiyot Am Chofshi that is visually and intellectually engaging. There are wonderful explorations of contemporary music, including study guides and interviews with musicians. Videos are used to create virtual tours of monuments.

As you plan to engage with your congregations around Israel in the coming weeks or at any time, I recommend that you check out the site and make use of its resources.