Diaspora English: On A Year of War, Plague, and Turning
Looking back on a year of teaching English in Tel Aviv and Nazareth during a resurgence of violence and a global pandemic.
Journalism by Jewish college students, for Jewish college students.
Article Archive
Diaspora English: A Tour of the West Bank
Daniel Crasnow sees the occupation up close through the lens of “Breaking the Silence”
Diaspora English: First Realizations in Nazareth
I wondered what part of his tour-guide history taught him to step to the back of the group he’s guiding, as he bowed to a religious sight. Was it just a part of getting out of the way— a matter of priorities in which his holy experience need not interrupt our photograph opportunity? Or was there something deeper there— a mutual shame on both our ends.
Diaspora English: Saying Goodbye to Students in Tel Aviv
“I’ll never forget seeing the kids light up as they are given the chance to work with me. I’ll never forget hearing them repeat new words under their breaths in order to memorize them. And I’ll never forget having to say ‘hello’ to twenty kids between the time I walked into school, and the moment I reached my classroom.”
Diaspora English: The Youth Village
Daniel Crasnow on his visit to the Yemin Orde Youth Village in Haifa.
Diaspora English: An American Election in Israel
“While American Jews continue to care about Israel, Israelis do not care as much about America.”
Diaspora English: Tradition As A Tool For Rebuilding
“It can be hard to find comfort in a world where many of the traditional sources of identity are being reexamined and dismantled.”
Diaspora English: Growing Roots After Quarantine
“By doing our work here…and by recognizing that we are not as strong or as stable as we thought we were, we are building our roots.” Daniel Crasnow reports on his experiences as an English teacher in Israel during a year of pandemic in a series entitled, “Diaspora English”.
Diaspora English: Quarantine in Israel
Part one of an ongoing correspondence with New Voices Magazine, Daniel Crasnow reports on his experiences as an English teacher in Israel during a year of pandemic in a new series entitled, “Diaspora English”.
What Can Marmite Tell Us About Diaspora? – A Jew in the Motherland
It was certainly one of the stranger Jewish conversations I have had. (Mind you, I have had many.) There I was in Oxford after a hearty Sabbath lunch, walking in the beauty of Christ Church Meadow, chatting with a new friend about food. At a moment, he turned to me and said, “You said…
Bernard Avishai on Israel & diaspora Jewish identity
Bernard Avishai has a really excellent essay (PDF) based on survey data (summarized by Haaretz here) from the Macro Center for Political Economic Research. It’s a long read, but worth every bit of it. A highlight: Approximately 40% of young Israeli Jews believe (about a third, strongly) that the state should not offer civil marriage….
Dispatch from a Teacher in Nazareth
An American Jewish English teacher reflects on the moments before a ceasefire in the eerie quiet of a kibbutz.
A Protest Before Sheikh Jarrah
An account of a day-to-day demonstration in Israel and Palestine, moments before current tensions exploded