Fighting the Oversimplification of Israel: Presenting Israel to Students as a Complex Reality

By Brian Cohen

We live in a “filterworld,” a term coined by Thomas Deleon and 

the title of his recent book, which describes how modern algorithms 

are increasingly altering our tastes, amplifying our assumptions, and 

customizing our realities.

In this current state, we take in our information about what is 

happening around us, both locally and globally, and receive cues as to 

how we should feel or what we should be doing about it. It is as if we 

are pushed to see complex realities in a binary fashion as computers 

do – as sides that represent good and bad, right and wrong – and with 

less and less nuance to find a middle ground.

Never has this been more apparent than what we have been 

witnessing over the past number of months on social and popular 

media in their portrayal of Israel. 

I have seen over the past several months a metamorphosis in the 

way many Americans and global citizens view the Israeli-Palestinian 

conflict - it has gone from a complex reality to what many may now 

deem a simpler case of good versus evil - and Jewish Israelis, or 

perhaps all Jews, are being pinned in the latter category. Current 

algorithms, often characterized by heavily unbalanced, partial, or 

unfounded “facts,” have made seemingly undeniable claims that 

Israel (i.e. the Jewish people) is committing genocide against the 

Palestinian people, and that to be a decent human being is to speak 

out and stand against Israel as a whole (or at the very least to like 

and comment on various articles and posts). In this view, Israel must 

be demonized and stopped at all costs. Where then does that leave 

our Jewish children today? Are they being put into a position where 

they must choose between standing for Israel - and thus being labeled 

pro-genocide - or standing for humanity - and thus turning against 

the Jewish homeland? 

The answer is to back the conversation away from that narrow set 

of choices, and to reframe the conversation away from “the danger of 

a single story” (a phrase used by Facing History and Ourselves). And 

though I am not an expert on the complicated historical and current 

dynamics of the land, I have found it necessary to dive into the reality 

with students head-on. But to do so does not mean to delve into the 

story of Israel merely from a perspective of conflict. It means bringing 

students into the conversation from many pathways, guiding them as 

they explore what Israel is and has been in the context of the world 

today. To do this, several of my teachers and I use a set of units offered 

by IsraelLink and other sources for Israel education. 

We discuss such topics as:

• Identity - who are you, how do you identify, and do you feel 

connected to Israel?

• Continuity of Jewish presence in the land of Israel for 

thousands of years.

• Zionism - what were the catalysts and mindsets that motivated 

Jews from around the world to create a Jewish state 75 years 

ago?

• The land and its people - understanding the various regions 

and diverse peoples of Israel and surrounding countries.

• Jewish values in action both within and outside of the land 

of Israel.

• Israeli Innovation and technology that has allowed for survival 

and thriving on the land and across the world.

• Understanding the similarities and differences between the 

lived experiences of Israeli Arabs and Israeli Jews.

• Having complex conversations that allow students to ask 

questions, share perspectives, and develop their own ways of 

understanding. 

When we bring students into a conversation that openly recognizes 

there will be many questions along the way, we allow them to begin 

to learn for themselves the perspectives they will need in order to 

understand what Israel is, what it needs to be, and their roles in 

helping to make it so. We do not seek to narrowly educate our students 

according to our own algorithms, as this will not serve them well once 

they encounter other perspectives that challenge their fundamental 

understandings and beliefs. They deserve to have a multilayered and 

nuanced comprehension of why Israel matters to them and the world.

פסח כשר ושמח 

Brian Cohen is the Head of School at MetroWest Jewish Day 

School in Framingham. He received his Masters degree in School 

Leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

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