Talking About “My Promised Land”

Talking about “My Promised Land” Bettering or Battering? A recurring theme in Shavit’s narrative is the difference, sometimes chasm, between intentions, actions, and results. What would you say were Shavit’s intentions in writing this book? Did he succeed? The Jewish community throughout the world tends to be suspicious of those who criticize Israel and Zionism. This may be because criticism can serve two opposing intentions. Sometimes criticism is a call for destruction, and sometimes criticism is a call for improvement and reconstruction. How would you classify “My Promised Land” - reconstructive? destructive? Do you believe Shavit’s intentions were towards construction or destruction? This book received considerable support from the Natan Fund, a Jewish organization that aims “to catalyze new conversations about Jewish life”. The book has already catalyzed conversations about Jewish life. Has it catalyzed new conversations for you? makomisrael.org facebook.com/makomisrael @makomisrael Do you think the Natan Fund was wise in supporting “My Promised Land”? 1 Triumphs and Tragedy The sub-title of the book is “The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel”. Are you left feeling that the book dealt well with both triumph and tragedy? Did you feel that one outweighed the other? Do you feel the balance or imbalance between triumph and tragedy in the book was significant? Most literary definitions of the Tragedy genre would insist on the common element of “inevitability”. A tragic understanding of an event would assume that catastrophe was unavoidable. Does “My Promised Land” insist upon the inevitability of catastrophe? Do you find this acceptable? makomisrael.org facebook.com/makomisrael @makomisrael 2 Zionism appears throughout the book in many guises. Sometimes Zionism is like a character with whims and will, sometimes faceless sometimes emotional. “My Promised Land” presents Zionism as something dynamic, ever-changing, but with something constant at its heart. We at Makom would say that the heart of Zionism is summed up in the penultimate line of Israel’s national anthem: “To be a free (Jewish) People in our land.” This line breaks down into four key values that are both simple and complex: To be – to survive, and also “to be” in the sense of to relax, “just to be” Free – free to take responsibility, free to grant and restrict freedoms, free to create (Jewish) People – connected to Jews globally, to Jewish civilization and culture In Our Land – the home of this collective enterprise is the “Holy Land” Given this understanding of Zionism’s heart, how would you say Shavit leaves you feeling about the Zionist enterprise? makomisrael.org facebook.com/makomisrael @makomisrael 3 “To be” To what extent has Zionism been successful in ensuring the survival of the Jewish People? To what extent has Zionism been successful in enabling the Jewish People to “just be”? How are you left feeling about Israel’s capability to enable the Jewish People to continue To be? “Free” Has Zionism empowered the Jewish People to be able to make their own decisions, and decide their own fate? To what extent has Zionism been successful in enabling Jewish creativity? How are you left feeling about Israel’s capability to enable the Jewish People to continue to be free? makomisrael.org facebook.com/makomisrael @makomisrael 4 “(Jewish) People” To what extent has Zionism been successful in holding the Jewish People together? To what extent would you say Zionism has contributed to the language, culture, and values of the Jewish People? How are you left feeling about Israel’s ongoing connection to Jewish people, civilization, and values? “In Our Land” To what extent do you think that Zionism has succeeded in gathering Jews from around the world into a viable homeland? How do you feel about the way in which Zionism negotiated the claims of another people to the same land? makomisrael.org facebook.com/makomisrael @makomisrael 5 Throughout the world there is a marked reticence among young Jews to classify themselves as Zionists or to openly identify with the word Zionism. Ari Shavit has no such reticence. In what way would you say Shavit is a Zionist? How would you compare your relationship to Zionism with Shavit’s? Israel vs Diaspora From humble beginnings, Israeli Jews now make up (or will very soon make up) the majority of Jews in the world. This is not only due to Israeli birth-rates, but also due to dropping Jewish birth-rates in the Diaspora. The only Diaspora birth-rates that are rising, are among orthodox and ultra-orthodox. Shavit asserts that Israel is the only chance for the long-term survival of non-orthodox Jewry.Before jumping off into discussions of the viability of Diaspora Jewry, let’s look at Shavit’s positive assertion: Have you ever seen Israel as the long-term solution to the continuity of non-religious Jewry? Do you find Shavit’s assertion challenging? Are you able to easily dismiss it? makomisrael.org facebook.com/makomisrael @makomisrael 6 So... what do you think ? Are you pleased to have read the book? Are there people you particularly hope will read this book? Are there people you particularly hope will not read this book? What do you think about the fact that this book has not yet been published in Hebrew? makomisrael.org facebook.com/makomisrael @makomisrael 7 Facilitator’s guide makomisrael.org facebook.com/makomisrael @makomisrael 8 What do you need? You need to have read the book yourself… You need for everyone attending the discussion to have read the book (or up to the chapter you are discussing, in the 9-part series) – no short cuts! You need to have worked through the guide, making decisions for yourself. You are welcome to print out any of the materials you wish. You can also run the entire session carbon-free. You need a quiet, well-lit room with comfortable seating for the discussion itself. Set up a flip-chart or white board. makomisrael.org facebook.com/makomisrael @makomisrael 9 What do we recommend? Make sure everyone introduces themselves if it is a new group. Then throw out a “warm- up question” that everyone in the group should answer, before digging into the written questions. We find that the following opener is generative: “What is your exclamation mark and your question mark after reading the book?” ie what surprised them, and what question do they have? Have everyone in the group answer this briefly. Whether discussing the whole book or a part of it, we recommend building a group “re- cap” on the white board. Either chapter by chapter, or section by section, have everyone contribute to a brief summary of the book’s main topics. This way everyone will be reminded of what they read, and will feel that they are building a shared picture. Don’t take more than 15 minutes for this. Begin the conversation using the questions in the Structured approach, or by going for the Free-range approach. makomisrael.org facebook.com/makomisrael @makomisrael 10 Structured approach: The advantages of the structured approach is that it enables you to cover wide aspects of the book, and not get stuck into narrow issues into which a free ranging conversation may flow. The structured questions are also there to allow the conversation to take place in the context Shavit intends: what is the meaning and future of Israel to the Jewish People? Follow the questions. But don’t forget that you are aiming to build a flowing conversation, and not a staccato question/answer session. So feel free to alter the order of the questions, to dwell more on some than others, skip over some, and add your own. Free-range conversation approach: Depending on the nature of the group and your familiarity with them, you might ask everyone to print out two quotations from the book before they arrive: One quotation that they wholeheartedly agreed with, and one with which they strongly differed. Have them post them up on the walls of the room. Give time for everyone to look at each other’s choices. An entire session could be given over to giving everyone space to explain their choices. This could be a fascinating and rich exploration of people’s responses to the book, and would allow them to bring their own burning issues to the table. We would recommend, however, adding in one additional dimension to this free-ranging, individual-led conversation. We recommend introducing these four values of Zionism to the group: makomisrael.org facebook.com/makomisrael @makomisrael 11 Zionism appears throughout the book in many guises. Sometimes Zionism is like a character with whims and will, sometimes faceless sometimes emotional. “My Promised Land” presents Zionism as something dynamic, ever-changing, but with something constant at its heart. We at Makom would say that the heart of Zionism is summed up in the penultimate line of Israel’s national anthem: “To be a free (Jewish) People in our land.” This line breaks down into four key values that are both simple and complex: To be – to survive, and also “to be” in the sense of to relax, “just to be” Free – free to take responsibility, free to grant and restrict freedoms, free to create (Jewish) People – connected to Jews globally, to Jewish civilization and culture In Our Land – the home of this collective enterprise is the “Holy Land” makomisrael.org facebook.com/makomisrael @makomisrael 12 Place four signs up around the walls: To Be, Free, Jewish People, and In Our Land. Either at the end of the entire discussion, or after each person has talked about their chosen quotations, ask everyone to post each quotation under the appropriate Zionist value.

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