Sixteen Jewish Professionals Travel to Chicago To Learn About Israel Education

The Charlotte Jewish News, May 2023

By Noah Goldman, JFGC Israel & Global Jewry Associate

As part of its Outshine Hate initiative, Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte sponsored 16 Jewish community professionals to attend the iCON conference in Chicago this past March. This biennial gathering is presented by the iCenter, a Chicago-based organization launched in 2008 to transform the field of Israel edu- cation, complete with curriculum, professional development, and pedagogical theories.

The Charlotte participants included representatives from Charlotte Jewish Preschool, Charlotte Jewish Day School, Hebrew High, Jewish Preschool on Sardis, Levine JCC, Temple Israel, Temple Beth El, Temple Kol Ami, and the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte. The group joined hundreds of Jewish educators and professionals of all types, ages and levels of observance to discuss and learn how to teach the complicated and now thornier-than-usual topic of Israel.

Michelle Rusgo, director of art and culture at the LJCC, said “Attending iCon Chicago was an incredible opportunity to build connections with our Charlotte

partners, Jewish educators from around the world, and with the place our Jewish identity began, Israel. I am in awe of the sessions I attended and I learned how the extraordinary truly exists in Israel’s day-to-day living. Israel is an amazing place rich with diversity and culture, and I am excited to share what I have learned with our Charlotte community.”

The focus of iCON is less on teaching facts and figures and more on broader concepts and ways of thinking about Israel. The three-day gathering comprises dozens of sessions on topics like Israeli television, Jewish-Arab relationships, the Hebrew language, Israeli comics, poetry, and music. Its unique framework is founded on two principals: first, that Israel education is integral to Jewish education and identity; and second, that excellent Israel education must be grounded in excellent education.

“The iCenter conference opened my eyes to an inspired world of Israel education in which we embrace opportunities to teach and learn about complexity and nuance with a focus on helping students gain understanding,” shares Jonathan Friedman, COO at Temple Beth El. “Thanks to Federation, we were able to travel to iCON with a Charlotte delegation representing a cross-section of our entire community, all of whom left inspired to create a collaborative approach to this work going forward.”

While there were dozens of sessions on a wide variety of topics, Charlotte participants shared that the time spent between the formal aspects of the gathering – the sideline conversations, the chats by the coffee urn – were extremely valuable as they provided an opportunity for participants to interact with fellow professionals whom they don’t get to work with often, or with people from around the country they would never otherwise meet.

“As the community convener, Federation is uniquely positioned to facilitate these types of gatherings and conversations,” says Tair Giudice, chief impact officer for Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte. “We have a valuable role in bringing the various organizations together to address challenges facing our Jewish community.” Federation’s investment in this Charlotte cohort of professionals is part of its concerted effort to intensify the quality and scope of what is offered in the Jewish community of Greater Charlotte in the realm of Israel education and engagement. The challenges of doing so are made greater by current attempts to delegitimize Israel and the alarming rise of antisemitism. To address these challenges, Federation launched its community-wide initiative Outshine Hate in April 2021. “We know that engagement with Israel plays a significant role in one’s Jewish identity,” explains Giudice.

“With that in mind, Federation is committed to equipping and motivating our community’s institutional leaders and educators to create innovative access points towards a diverse, real, and sophisticated understanding of Israel and its many roles in Jewish life.” Providing this professional development opportunity for our Charlotte community’s professionals is just one piece of Federation’s multi-pronged framework implemented as part of its Outshine Hate initiative. Another piece of this framework includes partnering with IsraelNow, to offer a highly subsidized, week-long Israel trip for eighth graders. “That way, when our community’s teens begin high school, they’ve already had one experience with Israel,” continues Giudice, “and they understand where Israel lives in their lives and identities.”

Federation looks forward to continuing its work with the iCenter and the Charlotte cohort in creating a communal landscape that deepens people’s relationships with the people, land, and State of Israel. For more information or to get involved with Federation’s Outshine Hate initiative visit jewishcharlotte.org.

Front Row: Emily Greenberg (Charlotte Jewish Preschool), Allie Redder (Temple Kol Tikvah)

Second Row: Ericka Rahman (Jewish Preschool on Sardis), Donna deGroot (Charlotte Jewish Day School) Third Row: Beth Nichols (Temple Beth El), Rabbi Helene Kornsgold (Temple Israel), Julie Rizzo (Levine JCC), Michelle Rusgo (Levine JCC), Megan Harkavy (Hebrew High), Becca Green (Charlotte Jewish Preschool), Beverly Wakefield (Charlotte Jewish Preschool)

Back Row: Noah Goldman (Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte), Jenna Owens (Charlotte Jewish Preschool), Jonathan Friedman (Temple Beth El), Alan Johnathan (Temple Israel), Chad Schaeffer (Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte)