“I’m Going to Israel and All I Need to Pack Is My Imagination”: Pretend Trips to Israel in Jewish Early Childhood Education

ABSTRACT

This article examines the practice of pretend Israel trips in Jewish early childhood education. Jewish early childhood educators who work in markedly different preschool settings, and who have differing beliefs about Israel and Israel education, nonetheless converge on a practice of pretend trips to Israel that remains remarkably stable across settings. This article examines how and why these pretend trips have become part of the “grammar” of Jewish early childhood education, illuminating a practice that is simultaneously beloved and unsatisfying for Jewish early childhood educators who care about early childhood education and Israel education.

KEYWORDS:

• Israel
• early childhood
• teaching

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lauren Applebaum

Dr. Lauren Applebaum is the DeLeT Director at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Los Angeles. E-mail: [email protected]

Sivan Zakai

Dr. Sivan Zakai is the Sara S. Lee assistant professor of Jewish education at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Los Angeles. They are co-directors of Project ORLI: Research and Leadership in Israel Education.