The Israel Connection and American Jews

(Hardback)

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Mittelberg analyzes the effect of the Israel visit/experience upon the ethnic identity of American Jews. For most American Jews, being Jewish carries both religious and ethnic connotations. It is because of this dual context that the Israel visit has a different significance for American Jews when compared to visits of members of other ethnic groups back to their homelands. As Mittelberg argues, the relationship of American Jews to Israel is bound up in the broader concept of peoplehood, a notion that encompasses a shared sense of religion, nationality, language, culture, and history. Approximately one-third of the American Jewish population has visited Israel. Using a variety of survey data, Mittelberg examines the impact such visits have had on American Jews in terms of their affinity with Israel as well as their bonds to the American Jewish community.

Reviews

[v]aluable reading for anybody interested in the formation of an ethnic identity for American Jews, as well as for the academic directors of Israel encounter programs.-MESA Bulletin
[D]eals with an important question and provides answers based on careful research. The issue posed for analysis is whether or not visits to Israel by young people can help stem the tide of inter-marriage and assimilation. As the Jewish community struggles to cope with these crucial survival problems, it is helpful to examine an approach that may contribute a useful response. Moreover, instead of polemical arguments regarding the value of subsidizing trips to Israel, this books presents an array of impressive data.-Jewish Journal of South Florida
As contemporary Jews both in America and Israel reflect on contemporary threats to their collective survival, Mittelberg's sociological analysis provides a host of insightful and useful ideas about Jewish peoplehood. That tens of thousands of young adult birthright israel participants are continuing to travel to Israel, even though their parents have stopped traveling, is a testament to Mittleburg's prescience.-American Jewish History
His findings should prove important to Israeli and Diaspora Jewish leaders concerned with strengthening Jewish identity and Jewish continuity.-Journal of American Ethnic History
This book provides a useful starting point for understanding the effects of an Israel visit upon American Jews.-International Migration Review
"valuable reading for anybody interested in the formation of an ethnic identity for American Jews, as well as for the academic directors of Israel encounter programs."-MESA Bulletin
"Deals with an important question and provides answers based on careful research. The issue posed for analysis is whether or not visits to Israel by young people can help stem the tide of inter-marriage and assimilation. As the Jewish community struggles to cope with these crucial survival problems, it is helpful to examine an approach that may contribute a useful response. Moreover, instead of polemical arguments regarding the value of subsidizing trips to Israel, this books presents an array of impressive data."-Jewish Journal of South Florida
"[v]aluable reading for anybody interested in the formation of an ethnic identity for American Jews, as well as for the academic directors of Israel encounter programs."-MESA Bulletin
"As contemporary Jews both in America and Israel reflect on contemporary threats to their collective survival, Mittelberg's sociological analysis provides a host of insightful and useful ideas about Jewish peoplehood. That tens of thousands of young adult birthright israel participants are continuing to travel to Israel, even though their parents have stopped traveling, is a testament to Mittleburg's prescience."-American Jewish History
"His findings should prove important to Israeli and Diaspora Jewish leaders concerned with strengthening Jewish identity and Jewish continuity."-Journal of American Ethnic History
"This book provides a useful starting point for understanding the effects of an Israel visit upon American Jews."-International Migration Review
"[D]eals with an important question and provides answers based on careful research. The issue posed for analysis is whether or not visits to Israel by young people can help stem the tide of inter-marriage and assimilation. As the Jewish community struggles to cope with these crucial survival problems, it is helpful to examine an approach that may contribute a useful response. Moreover, instead of polemical arguments regarding the value of subsidizing trips to Israel, this books presents an array of impressive data."-Jewish Journal of South Florida

Author Bio

DAVID MITTELBERG is former head and current research associate at The Institute for Research of the Kibbutz and the Cooperative Idea, Haifa University and Lecturer in Sociology at the Oranim and Jezreel Academic Colleges./e Professor Mittelberg has published widely on kibbutz, gender, ethnicity, and migration.