Israel has long occupied a prominent place in the lives and imaginations of American Jews, serving as both a symbolic touchstone and a source of intercommunal conflict. Sivan Zakai's book, My Second-Favorite Country: How American Jewish Children Think About Israel, is based on the major findings from her research project with MCSJE on Children's Learning About Israel. This project is the first longitudinal study of how American Jewish children come to think and feel about Israel, tracking their evolving conceptions from kindergarten to fifth grade.

In this event to mark the publication of the book, Zakai and her fellow panelists explore the implications for the theory and practice of Jewish education. Panelists included Keren E. Fraiman (Spertus Institute), Robbie Gringras (educator, performer and writer), and Jonah Hassenfeld (Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Boston), moderated by Jon Levisohn (Brandeis University).

Originally recorded: 6/16/22

At the Mandel Center, we are committed to advancing the field of Jewish educational scholarship, especially scholarship on teaching and learning, in order to make a deep and lasting difference on the lives of learners and the vibrancy of the Jewish community. That’s our mission.

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Learning About Learning is a production of the Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education at Brandeis University, and is engineered and edited by Nathan J. Vaughan of NJV Media LLC.