In the summer of 2020, Makom published Israel Education: The Next Edge (edited by Jonny Ariel), a book that presents fresh ideas, from a wide variety of thinkers and educators, about what Israel education for this generation should look like.

The origins of this book are in a 2018 gathering held in Jerusalem by Makom, in honor of Alan Hoffmann, former Director-General of The Jewish Agency for Israel.

Our worry is that often, the desired outcomes of Israel education can be perceived as at odds with the lived experience of Israel. That is, how do we build deep connections with Israel that are unambiguous and memorable, without dumbing down Israel and without neglecting the questing minds of our students? Our premise is that Israel is more worthy than that.

This book provides new ideas about what the ideal of Israel Education could be like, with the following underlying principles:

• Israel has changed radically in the last few decades.
• Jewish identity has changed radically in the last few decades.
• Education has changed radically in the last few decades.

Shouldn’t Israel education do the same?

The book includes a collection of thought-provoking articles by Jonny Ariel, Dr. Alex Pomson, Anna Pomson, Dr. David Breakstone, Prof. John A. Levisohn, Rabbi Prof. Lisa Grant, Robbie Gringras, Dr. Rachel Korazim, Prof. Ken Stein, Dr. Rachel Fish, Leah Solomon, Dr. John Ruskay, Lauren Cohen-Fisher, Prof. Gil Troy, Sarah Mali, Dr. Zohar Raviv, Dr. Alex Sinclair, Rabbi Dr. Elliot Cosgrove, Dr. Einat Wilf, and Prof. David Myers.

You can purchase the e-book here.