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Tuvia Book
Author, educator, Tour-Guide, artist

Why the Birthright Mifgash Works

The Birthright Season is upon us again!  A central component of the Birthright program is the Mifgash.   “Mifgash” is the loosely translated Hebrew word for a “meeting,” that is in this case a direct physical encounter between Israeli and American peers during the Israel trip.   The Mifgash enables Israelis and Americans an opportunity to spend time getting to know one another in both formal and informal settings.  This is seen as a crucial aspect of the Birthright agenda.  The Mifgash is a uniquely effective pedagogical tool for increasing the participants’ understanding of one another.  It is a structured encounter between individuals and also a meeting of two worlds.

Chazan and Saxe (2008) write that an educationally effective Mifgash should consist of, “viewing Israel from within the heads and hearts of Israeli peers.” The American Israel trip participants, with a Mifgash element incorporated in their program, are not looking out of their air-conditioned tour bus at the “locals,” but rather are interacting with them.  Kelner (2010) expands on this point by referring to a Mifgash as a “cross-cultural-peer-to-peer encounter.” An effective Mifgash challenges negative stereotypes which are caused by casual encounters.  It enables both sides to expand their Jewish horizons by learning to appreciate each other’s different perceptions of Jewishness.

meeting Josh Taglit 7 12 “Amazing Israel” Birthright Mifgash

Kelner observes that the Birthright Israel Mifgash model has met with “considerable success” in overcoming “the structural barriers that tourism erects between the tourist and the toured.” An educationally effective Mifgash with Israelis allows the American participants to gain an understanding of the complex multi-dimensional, multi-cultural reality that is Israel. The ability of the Mifgash to bring the outside in is best summed up by an American Birthright alumna, Lila Feinberg (2010), who recalled:

Suddenly, our world was extended and deepened beyond the microscopic scope of a bus isle…a true Mifgash.

The exposure to a wide spectrum of opinions from Israelis of different religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds should facilitate a broad based understanding of issues within contemporary Israel.  A successful, thought-provoking Mifgash should negate the viewing of Israel through a simplistic lens.  The Mifgash should be a tool for inductively gaining knowledge of Israeli society and issues, and have a positive effect on all of the participant’s Jewish/Zionist identity. An educationally valuable Mifgash allows the setting of the Mifgash location in Israel itself to become an inseparable part of the learning experience.

About the Author
Tuvia Book has a doctorate in education and is the author and illustrator of the internationally acclaimed Israel education curriculum; "For the Sake of Zion; A Curriculum of Israel Studies" (Fifth edition, Koren), "Jewish Journeys, The Second Temple Period to the Bar Kokhba Revolt, 536 BCE-136 CE," (Koren), "Moral Dilemmas of the Modern Israeli Soldier" (Rama) and the soon to be published “Jewish Journeys, The First Temple Period, 1000 -586 BCE” (Koren). Dr. Book was born in London and raised in both the UK and South Africa. After making Aliya at the age of 17 and studying in Yeshiva he volunteered for the IDF, where he served in an elite combat unit. Upon his discharge he completed his undergraduate degree in Jewish history and literature, as well as a certification in graphic design. He then served as the Information Officer and deputy head of security at the Israeli Consulate of Philadelphia, while earning a graduate degree in Jewish Studies. Upon his return to Israel, Dr. Book graduated from a course of study with the Israeli Ministry of Tourism and is a licensed tour guide. Tuvia has been working in the field of Jewish education, both formal and informal, for many years. He has guided and taught Jewish students and educators from around the English-speaking world for some of Israel’s premier educational institutions and programs. Tuvia has lectured throughout North America, Australia, Europe, and South Africa. In addition, his artwork has been commissioned on every continent (except Antarctica). Tuvia served as a Shaliach (emissary) for the Jewish Agency for Israel as the Director of Israel and Zionist Education at the Board of Jewish Education of Greater New York (Jewish Education Project). He was a lecturer/educational guide at the Alexander Muss Institute for Israel Education (AMIIE) in Israel. Tuvia has lectured at both Bar Ilan University and Hebrew University. He is a Teaching Fellow at the Tikvah Fund. He is a research associate at the Hudson Institute. His latest book, "Jewish Journeys, The First Temple Period, From King David to King Zedekiah, 1000 - 586 BCE," (Koren) is part of a series on Jewish history.