A conversation with author Sivan Zakai about her book My Second-Favorite Country: How American Jewish Children Think About Israel
Panel features Spertus Institute Dean & Chief Academic Officer Dr. Keren E. Fraiman, author and performer Robbie Gringras, and Dr. Jonah Hassenfeld of Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Boston, moderated by Dr. Jon Levisohn, Associate Professor of Jewish Educational Thought, Brandeis University.
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 2022 National Jewish Book Award winner, 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 was 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 a Brandeis University event marking the publication of the book, Zakai and a panel of educators explore the implications for the theory and practice of Jewish education.
Area of Focus: Critical Conversations