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More than 300,000 diaspora Jewish young adults and tens of thousands of their Israeli peers have participated in structured, cross-cultural encounters--"mifgashim"--in the context of an experiential education program known as Taglit-Birthright Israel. Drawing on field observations, interviews, and surveys, the formal and informal components of the encounters are described, and the meanings participants attach to the experience are analyzed. For North Americans, the encounters enable a personal and seemingly authentic experience of "the real" Israel, and make them feel welcome in the Jewish homeland. For Israelis, the encounters foster national pride, as well as identification with the transnational Jewish collective. Although program sponsors hoped the encounters would also create a forum for learning by Israeli participants about life in the Jewish diaspora, this latter goal was not typically achieved. This article explores the mechanisms by which the encounters generate identification with the homeland and the transnational Jewish collective, as well as the limitations of the encounters as a vehicle for reciprocal learning about diaspora culture and society. (Contains 10 footnotes and 4 figures.)

Jasmin Habib, Israel, Diaspora, and the Routes of National Belonging, University of Toronto Press, 2004, 317 pp THE TITLES OF RECENT BOOKS on the politics of Israel among North American […]

This article compares the meaning of neighborhood crime watch for White and African American participants. Both Whites and African Americans form crime watch groups to improve security and enhance neighborhood solidarity. They seek to accomplish these goals by becoming the 'eyes and ears of the police.' African Americans, however, also form crime watch groups to restore the roles of 'othermothers' and 'old heads.' This race-based difference in the meaning of crime watch stems from differences in perceptions of danger and memories of what community was like in the past.

Whereas after the 1967 War American Jews were united in I support of i Israel, today they are united in their I arguments about i Israel. Although Israel is clearly a focal point for American Jewish political and philanthropic mobilization, Ferziger is certainly correct that Israel's influence on the religious lives of American Jews is more difficult to discern. Addressing a group of American Jewish leaders, President Trump once referred to Israel as "your country."[17] On another occasion, he chastised American Jews for insufficient loyalty to the Jewish state. American Jews are less likely - for obvious reasons - to believe that being a good Jew entails living in Israel or serving in the Israel Defense Forces. [Extracted from the article]

An essay reviewing survey reports surveys on the topics of attitudes of Israeli Jews on civil rights, democracy, and Arab-Jewish relations in Israel. Reports include "Israel's Religiously Divided Society" Neha Sahgal and Alan Cooperman, "Still Playing by the Rules: Index of Arab-Jewish Relations in Israel" by Sammy Smooha and "Israel Democracy Index" by Tamar Hermann.