Landscapes of collective belonging: Jewish Americans narrate the history of Israel after an organized tour

This study examines changes to Jewish day school students' narratives of the history of Israel after a two-and-a-half-week trip there. Seventeen students were interviewed about the history of Israel before and after the trip. Before the trip, most students' accounts lacked logical connections among the different events. The observations on the trip revealed that the tour guide told a story of Jewish exile and return which most of the students adopted. This finding suggests that short trips to Israel may be able to teach a coherent narrative, something formal history classrooms struggle to do. The article concludes proposing a division of labor between Israel travel and formal, classroom instruction.