Ten Days of Birthright Israel: A Journey in Young Adult Identity (Brandeis Series in American Jewish History, Culture, and Life) - Softcover

Saxe, Leonard; Chazan, Barry

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1584655410 ISBN 13: 9781584655411

Publisher: Brandeis University Press, 2008

Synopsis

Since 2000, nearly one hundred fifty thousand young adult Jews have participated in Birthright Israel, conceived to curb assimilation by shifting an entire generation of Diaspora Jews from a trajectory of noninvolvement with the Jewish community to one of identity and engagement. birthright israel is a free ten-day educational experience available to any young adult Jew between the ages of eighteen and twenty-six. Most of those who have received the “gift” to reconnect with their heritage have been from North America and demand for the program has far exceeded available slots. Dozens of organizations served as trip sponsors, from campus-based Hillels, to youth movements, to private educational tour companies. Each group implemented a carefully planned model of experiential education that involved exposure to ancient and modern history, as well as to the people of Israel. Key to the program is participation of Israeli peers who spend half or more of the trip with their Diaspora counterparts. Although Birthright Israel’s focus is parochial, with an emphasis on Jewish identity, the program provides a fascinating social laboratory in which to understand young adults’ religious/ethnic identity and the impact of educational experiences. As a study of ethnic identity formation in postmodern society, it illuminates important lessons about how intensive exposure to one’s heritage can be a catalyst for identity formation, as well as how educational programs can be made more engaging and effective. With Leonard Saxe and Barry Chazan serving as tour guides and interpreters, this story and analysis of Birthright Israel unfolds in ten chapters that parallel the ten days of the trip. This structure showcases the experiences of the participants, bringing them vividly to life, and shows how the program’s effects may well last far beyond the time they spend together in Israel.

About this title

About the Author

HEINZ SCHILLING holds the chair in Early Modern European History at the History Department of Humboldt University in Berlin. He is a member of the Berlin Brandenburgische (former Prussian), the British, the Royal Dutch, and the European Academy of Sciences; Laureatus 2002 of the Dutch Heinecken Prize in History; President of the Verein für Reformationsgeschichte, and European Managing Editor of the Archive for Reformation History. He is the author of numerous books and articles.

Review

." . . the book is a success . . . Recommended." --Choice

."..the book is a success...Recommended."--Choice

" the book is a success Recommended." Choice

"Readers will come away feeling that those parts of this book that are devoted to portraits of the participants in all aspects of Birthright Israel and what happens to them are enlightening and worthy of attention. Those who are unfamiliar with the program will be enriched by reading about this bold effort to insure Jewish continuity."--Jerusalem Post

"[Ten Days of Birthright Israel] is pleasurable to read and highly recommended to those interested in a synthesis of the ambitious research into this impressive educational effort. It is to be hoped that this valuable evaluation will continue to track this program and its long-term sociological and pedagogical impact will be assessed."--American Jewish History

"[Saxe and Chazan] provide an informative insiders' account of how Birthright has become an agency that works with 30 different organizations to design and administer trips tailored to different types of young Jews (religious, secular, LGBT, environmentalist, etc.) from 56 countries."--Jewish Book Review

..".the book is a success...Recommended."--Choice

"The book is a success. . . . Recommended."--Choice

Choice"

Jerusalem Post"

About this edition

• Publisher: Brandeis University Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1584655410
• ISBN 13: 9781584655411
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256