1

Introduction
The ten-minute walk from my house in Modiin to the town mall is rather ordinary. I walk past some apartment buildings, weave through a pretty area with some park benches and flower beds, and cross the main road to enter the mall at the entrance between the pharmacy and the bank. But stop and think what a modern miracle that walk really is! Just 20 years ago, on this spot you would have seen only rocks, dirt, weeds: a wasteland. Fifteen years ago, Modiin simply didnt exist. Its a new Israeli city that sprouted out of the wilderness, out of nothing, but now contains much more than a pharmacy and a bank: theres a train station, supermarkets, synagogues, cinemas, shops of every kind, dance studios and theaters all the accoutrements of a modern Israeli city, enjoyed by its 80,000 inhabitants every day. Modiin is a microcosm of modern Israel. What has been built here, achieved here, embodied here, over the past hundred years or so, truly takes my breath away. I live in Modiin, Israels newest city, and work in Jerusalem, Israels oldest. My drive to work takes me past Jerusalems Supreme Court, one of Israels most architecturally incredible buildings, past the Knesset and the Israel Museum, within a few blocks of Jerusalems wonderful Machane Yehuda market, and finally to my office itself, which is a tenminute walk from the Old City walls. I park my car, and breathe the fresh Jerusalem air. The sun, dimmed by its winter angle, still reflects brightly off the building opposite, the inimitable golden color of Jerusalem stone. Day in, day out, its still a magical feeling. And theres an added thrill: That building opposite is the residence of the Prime Minister. My office is quite literally across the road. I have yet to glimpse Binyamin Netanyahu or his wife Sarah strolling among the rose bushes, but that adds an extra bit of excitement to the hint of perfume in the air.

loving the real israel

I didnt vote for the present inhabitant of that house; indeed, theres little he does that I agree with. Yet somehow, I manage to hold those things together in my Zionist identity: enduring love tinged with deepseated disenchantment; genuine anger tempered by the continuing magic. My love for Israel is a complicated love. And I think thats true for a lot of other young American Jews; or would be, if we gave them the option. In recent years, many books and essays have been written about liberal American Jews who disagree with Israels current policies. Probably the most widely-discussed of these statements have been those by Peter Beinart, in his article in the New York Review of Books in 2010, and his subsequent book, The Crisis of Zionism, in 2012. But there have been many others, before and alongside Beinart, who have given voice to or brought our attention to liberal American Jews disenchantment or frustration with Israel: Jeremy Ben Ami, Steven M. Cohen, Donniel Hartman, and Jay Michaelson, to name but a few. What most of these commentators and researchers have shown, beyond a reasonable doubt, is that many young Jews today are seeking a relationship with Israel that contains both commitment and critique. In surveys, they define themselves as pro-Israel (whatever that means), but they are often also skeptical and critical about particular Israeli policies. Until now, nearly all of the discourse about the problem of loving Israel as a liberal American Jew has been restricted to the realms of politics and sociology. But Im a Jewish educator. Im interested in how we rethink education about Israel and engagement with Israel in the light of this new political and sociological reality. How we might redefine our educational and communal discourse, curricula, and programs to speak more appropriately to this new generation of Jews. Thats what this book is about. This book sets forth an argument concerning the best way to inspire the next generation to love Israel in the years ahead, even if that love may have a different form, a different color, a different shade, from the love that previous generations felt: it may need to be a new kind of love that works for young American Jews today.

Pillar 1: Complexity

This book examines what that new love is, what it looks like, what it feels like; in educational terms, the details of how to educate for an Israel engagement of complicated love, of commitment and critique. In particular, it examines how to nurture a love for Israel while being clear-eyed about what the country is, about what it does wrong as well as what it does right. It is written by someone who sees plenty of flaws with Israel, despite his love for the country. You, the reader, may share my position, and may find that this book provides a conceptual framework and justification for the kind of complicated love for Israel that you have been looking for. But if you, the reader, dont share my position whether you think Israel has done no wrong, or can do no wrong, or that its wrongs are best downplayed and overlooked given the circumstances Id like you to consider for a moment that your love for Israel may be blinding you to her flaws. Thats fine; a certain amount of blindness is something we expect from love. But for many young American Jews, blind love is no longer a viable option. Unless we find a way to contain both commitment and critique within Jewish education about Israel, well be in danger of offering those young Jews a zero-sum choice: Hold on to their attachment to Israel, or their critique of Israel, but not both. And if we offer them that either-or choice, Im nervous about the option that many will select. So how do we engender love for Israel among young American Jews despite the flaws they see? Or along with the flaws they see? That is the question at the heart of this book.