Birthright Diaspora, a global initiative to provide Jews with immersion experiences in far-flung Jewish communities, will make Jews proud again.
It sounds strange, doesn't it? For one thing, despite the proclamations of Jewish fund-raisers and Israeli political and cultural leaders, most Jews in the Diaspora are not living on the brink of physical, spiritual or cultural devastation. Secondly, to associate Diaspora experiences with "pride" is to break one of the major taboos of modern Jewish education. Israel is the pinnacle of pride; Diaspora is the domain of destruction. That's why education about the Diaspora designed for 15-year-olds has encouraged, in the words of one role-playing game created by the Jewish Agency, enactments of "discrimination, persecution, forced conversion, outmarriage, assimilation, [and] (im)migration" so that "the message of a diminishing Jewish world and Israel as the only country with a growing Jewish population should be apparent."
Even Birthright Israel, for all its enormous accomplishments as an immersion-based educational vehicle, suggests in its literature a binary notion of Jewish history and identity: "Israel made Jews proud . . . [it] represents the ideological revolution in which Jews became the 'subjects' of history rather than the 'objects.'"
And yet, as it turns out, more than a few Jews have been proud actors on the historical stage in the last 2,000 years. It's time to expand our notions of positive Jewish identity and at long last move beyond an ideology that fretfully masquerades self-hatred as Jewish empowerment. By digging through centuries of Jewish life, Birthright Diaspora will help transform Jewish self-awareness and break the dichotomy of "hero" and "victim" that has handicapped internal Jewish intellectual inquiry for decades. The goal is not merely widespread experiences in Jewish communities around the world, but a renewed understanding of Diaspora as a birthright that underlies roots of Jewish consciousness. If implemented effectively, Birthright Diaspora can lead to an existential transformation in the way Jews and Israelis view themselves and the world.
The program is not meant to replace Birthright Israel, but rather to exist in tandem as a supplementary option for Jewish education and identity enrichment for young adults. Although there are currently a number of Jewish educational programs in the Diaspora, many of these perpetuate long-standing ideologies, either by focusing on death and destruction or by positioning Israeli or American visitors as spiritual or economic "rescuers" of the locals.
Birthright Diaspora will have a different focus: immersion experiences in which the visitors both learn from, and share with, the local Jewish populations. Participants as well as destinations will be selected by lottery. To ensure geographic diversity, destinations will be at least 1,000 miles away from the respective participant's place of birth or current residence. Just as Birthright Israel does not allow trips to be run by Jews for Jesus or Jews for Hezbollah, Birthright Diaspora will not permit the trips to become necrophiliac surveys of Diaspora doom.
Finally, Birthright Diaspora's success will hinge on the participation of young Israeli adults in Jewish communities around the world. This participation will serve to emphasize Jewish solidarity and the equality of all Jewish communities, including Israel; to reorient an education system skewed by assumptions of geographic supremacy; and to educate young Israelis about worldwide Jewish life, as participants and observers rather than as emissaries, shepherds or eulogists. A massive advertising campaign will be employed to educate Israelis that the Diaspora is their birthright; hopefully the trips will become a part of Israel's education system.
Imagine the possibilities of Israelis learning about Jewish life in countries that have rights enshrined in constitutions; in societies that protect the freedom of religion and the integrity of the state by scrupulously separating the two; or in nations that guard the democratic and human rights of citizens and non-citizens.
The benefits do not end there. Birthright Diaspora will also help inculcate a sense of global citizenship among Israelis by teaching them about the history of Diaspora Jewish involvement in the larger world. After all, one paradox of modern Zionism is that we are told that Israel has freed us from the shackles of the ghetto, both physically and, crucially, mentally. And yet, some of Israel's most vociferous advocates today claim that Israel has become "the 'Jew' among the states of the world." Clearly, the ghetto mentality has not disappeared; it has merely transposed itself into a national identity. Hopefully, Birthright Diaspora will alter this construct by helping Israel break out of its walls.
It may seem like the absolute height of arrogance for an American to suggest that Israel implement a system of education with an eye toward social engineering. For the past six decades, it's been a one-way street of Zionist education with an eye toward social engineering in the Diaspora. This has never been called "arrogant" but, rather, "the status quo." But it's time, for the sake of all of us, to change the paradigm. If Birthright Diaspora helps institute new ways of thinking in Israel, maybe it can help lead to an end to Israel's isolation and, who knows, perhaps even a road toward peace between Israel and its neighbors. If this happens, Birthright Diaspora has the potential to be the most Zionist innovation since the first Israeli borrowed felafel from the Egyptians.
Eli Valley's comics appear monthly in The Forward. He is also the author of "The Great Jewish Cities of Central and Eastern Europe." "Birthright Diaspora" appeared as part of the "28 Days, 21 Ideas" project.
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