Israeli Identity and the Future of American Jewry

Author: Jennie Starr This article does a great job of arguing “Israeliness” may be a solution to combat apathy towards organized Jewish life in the Diaspora and the challenges of assimilation. Though I’m not a fan of the term “Israeliness,” I do believe Israeli culture and Hebrew language can be key to raising Jewish Americans with an Israeli lens that bridges and connects us for years to come. Some of my favorite quotes from within: Oblivion knocks. The two obvious alternatives—aliya and Orthodoxy—require so radical a change in one’s lifestyle that they’re… Read More
Teaching Hebrew in America, a Zionist Approach

Great article from CEO & Preseident of the Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life, David Gedzelman in their Contact magazine about how critically important relevance, context, and connection is to teaching Modern Hebrew in America for American Jews and Israeli-Americans and how using the proficiency approach, leveraging methodologies like ACTFL standards and more are key to doing it right. Read the article here. http://www.steinhardtfoundation.org/contact/winter2016/winter_2016_gedzelman.htm
Israeli? Israeli-American? American? Why Speaking Hebrew Matters
October 2015, citing statistics from the Reut Institute, the Israeli-American Council and the PEW report about Israeli-Americans, Jewish identity, education and Israel connection this article explores the important of Hebrew language for Israelis, Israeli-Americans and Americans too. Written by Jennie Starr, Founder/CEO at Tarbuton Israeli Cultural Experiences in San Diego, CA. Read in English: @ Times of Israel or at @eJewish Philanthropy Read in Hebrew: @Shavua Israeli (scroll to p. 27)