SESSION+5+-+JULIAN+RESNICK

=SESSION 5 - JULIAN RESNICK= //These are based on Nachama's notes. Feel free to edit on top of them and/or start a conversation using the DISCUSSION tab, above// **__ Julian’s thoughts in relation to the first day’s discussion __** ** How does one learn to love Israel, learns to create a connection with Israel? ** ** Do we believe we have the right to build the relationship? That we are going to dedicate a serious amount of time with these young Jewish people? ** ** Can we create this relationship alone? Or can we only be part of a bigger group? **  · Without the students’ homes, and without the synagogue/institution wanting a relationship with Israel, we will struggle mightily. It won’t happen in the classroom, but will have to happen with the home environment and the extended family. We need to work on a number of levels.  o The agenda has to be known and is clear. Can’t be one we are trying to slip in the back door.  · Have to be clear why Israel is on our agenda, why we are suggesting to Jewish families that this is important.  · Have to be clear where we want to get to and the stages that children will need to go through to get to the goals. Take the children on a journey.  o If the intention is to end up with a community that hugs and wrestles with Israel, let’s say it from the beginning.  o If the intention is to end up with a different relationship, e.g., “Israel right or wrong” then let’s say that  o Parents might say that they don’t buy into this… and don’t want to be there….and we have to understand this.  · Where is Israel in my life? Will I be working for peace in Israel? Social justice in Israel? [This relates to Israel as an easier place to love.]  · Julian guesses that there are parents with no relationship with Israel nor background who might be antagonistic to Israel. We need to do parallel learning that help parents engage in Israel, as their children. We’re asking you to come in so that you can provide the intelligent background to the conversation your children will become part of. He guesses that there are parents who fell in love with Israel who now are not in love. He guesses that there are parents who spent time in Israel and have other thoughts on Israel. That there are parents who are intermarried, with other connections.  · What happens in the classroom?  o Israel should infuse the curriculum; ever present. Not just on Yom Ha’atzmaut.  o There should be a visual map of Israel, hopefully in relation to America. As well as a historical map of the world.  o Integrate //ts’dakah// and Israeli charities – things that relate to what young people are concerned about.  o Creating memory traces – making sure that there are enough visual, personal, emotional moments through the child’s years in the educational system. Things that will come up later. [e.g., Julian has a strong memory of making the sounds of Hatikvah when he was a little boy. This trace of Israel is helpful later.]  o Have to be honest from the outset. How do you do this with young people? If talking about family, we sometimes have difficulty with cousins. We have trouble in the family. We can have trouble with neighbors and how we live with neighbors. What happens if we don’t know our neighbors? Possessions – what is mine and what is yours?  o How to deal with the current issues, and ethics? Edward De Bono: //Children Solve Problems [|**[1**]] // (lateral thinking). He asks them the most difficult philosophical questions in the world. How do you solve the problem of cats and dogs fighting? How does one weigh an elephant? With this way of thinking, they can also think about issues related to Israel? <span style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> o Who are the teachers? Who are we handing this issue to? The skills, background, relationship? You can’t tell someone to be passionate…. The Discussion: <span style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list .25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> · Have to work on Israel becoming an easier place to love. For Julian this is about stepping in and helping Israel be a better place. Reform Jew – am I going to be seen as Jewish in Israel? Issue of renting housing to Arabs? How do I help the environmental issues, or issues of cleanliness? Nachama took the words differently and thought that it meant reconceptualizing how we introduce Israel to our students in a way that is both complex, but also relevant to them. This is a challenge she believes we need to consider. <span style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list .25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> · The new paradigm – in a critical, challenging, dynamic way we need to help our students develop a mature relationship with Israel <span style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list .25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> · Could we come together and do a community-wide JESP for the teachers – how do we help them get excited? How do we help them think about infusing Israel into their teaching? The sense is that professional development and curriculum need to go hand-in-hand. It’s something for us to consider. <span style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list .25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> · How can we use the ShinShinim? [Israelis coming after high school and before the army to volunteer.] <span style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list .25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> · Prof’l Development. Julian emphasized that if a trip is in the picture, it will only work if it’s done well, exposing teachers to people who have a real passion for Israel and can express that. <span style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list .25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> · In thinking about Love for Israel, Jeffrey offered the following from Eric Fromm related to the definition of love: concern, care, relationship, criticism, (Eric Fromm)

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