Liberal Jewish identity and the pedagogy of Israel education
摘要
Recent studies have emerged arguing that reification of Jewish identity has obscured creative efforts regarding what Jewish education should be. We agree with this critique when conceiving of identity psychologically or sociologically, but not ethically. Based on our phenomenological inquiry into the pedagogical content knowledge of twenty exemplary Israel educators from the United States, Israel, Australia, and Canada, we outline a pedagogy of Israel education for deepening liberal Jewish identity when conceptualized from an ethical perspective. We argue that Israel education represents a countercultural form of Jewish education as it aids learners in embracing distinct visions of the Jewish good beyond the liberal-religious paradigm and that Israel education be prioritized within Jewish education to empower students to develop “thick” ethical Jewish identities from Jewish sources.