More handpicked essays just for you.
Influence of Israeli culture on American Jewish identities
Influence of Israeli culture on American Jewish identities
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Israel is a large part of my own Jewish identity, as well as the identity of all Jews around the world, whether they acknowledge it or not. As most people know, Israel has been the homeland of the Jewish people for thousands of years. Going to Jewish day school for almost all of my life has placed me in an environment where I am around only around other Jews. Therefore, my connection to Israel may be somewhat different from someone who goes to public school and is not that surrounded by Judaism for at least five days a week. Throughout all my years of learning about the Jewish people in day school, I have gathered information about our connection to Israel as a people, and my role inside of our people. I have learned about our constant struggle
Israel was created as a haven for persecuted Jew as a result of the Holocaust, however, it was soon run by the military. “The new Israel seemed to be a nation where the military ruled ignoring the will of the countr...
Judaism is a religion. It is not a nationality. Nowadays Israel is synomonous with Judaism but there was no State of Israel in the 19th century and there was no holocaust in the 19th century. It is necessary to state this because they have both in their own ways changed our perceptions as to what it means to be a Jew. The Jews of Vienna despite being portrayed as a homogenous unit were in fact divided on many lines. There were firstly, major class divisions, also they had a myriad of political beliefs, they had as many nationalities as the empire and more, and even with regards religion there were differences, since even an assimilated, lapsed or aethistic Jew could still be regarded as a Jew. Throughout the history of the Habsburg Empire, Jews had been bankers to the Crown. Despite prejudice and restrictions on their movement and
We often face the reality of questioning our purpose in the world and wondering: when our time in this world comes to an end, what impression will we have left on the world? To answer this question, we look to our identity — both personal and community-based — to define who we are and provide for us a sense of self. Identity for a Jew, like that of other marginalized groups, is made up of a collection of character traits and significant milestones that both define and validate the existence and survival of an age-old people. As an American Jew, whose freedom to identify is made possible by the persistence of my ancestors to keep our traditions and culture alive, my identity is immensely important to me. But how is it that our heritage has
Israel was a very hard place to live when it first was established. We often found sickness, which caused many families to start over again. Because of this, there were many authors who expressed their feelings during this time. This can be seen this in the story Dr. Schmidt. In this story, it is clear that there are a lot of old and new Jews, topics relating to Zionism, and a gap between Ashkenazi Jews and Yemenite Jews. These topics have helped readers relate to these stories, and motivate them to live a better life. This is why the state of Israel has been so successful in its short life. The drive to succeed has shaped the State of Israel for the better.
The Israeli-Palestine conflict is an event that has been well documented throughout the course of Middle-Eastern history. The conflict dates back as far as the nineteenth century where Palestine and Zionist, will later be known as Israel, are two communities each with different ideologies had the same overwhelming desire to acquire land. However, what makes this clash what it is, is the fact that both of these up and coming communities are after the same piece of land. The lengths that both sides went to in order obtain they believed was theirs has shaped the current relationship between the two nations today.
My beliefs are important to me. I wake up every morning with a cup of coffee in my hand and turn on the daily news. I see many problems occurring around the world, but most of us are too blind to actually do something to help. We are too blinded by our society's cultural that we can’t separate ourselves from the good and bad.
When I think of my "cultural identity," my religion--Judaism--comes to mind first and foremost. When I think of my Jewish identity in conflict, racism (in my case "anti-Semitism") is the obvious factor. But to fully define my conflict with my religious identity, I cannot only write from personal experiences with racism. I must also include the anti-Semitism that my forefathers have endured, from the beginning of time up to today, ranging from the Spanish Inquisition to the Holocaust, from the massacre at the Munich Olympics to Iraq's actions in the Persian Gulf War. From direct racism and intended hatred to subtle racism in the form of jokes and passing comments, anti-Semitism has played a big part in my life, and a huge part in the history of my religion.
Since the inception of an Israeli nation-state in 1948, violence and conflict has played a major role in Israel’s brief history. In the Sixty-One year’s Israel has been a recognized nation-state, they have fought in 6 interstate wars, 2 civil wars, and over 144 dyadic militarized interstate disputes (MIDs) with some display of military force against other states (Maoz 5). Israel has been involved in constant conflict throughout the past half century. Israel’s tension against other states within the Middle East has spurred vast economic, social, and political unity that has fostered a sense of nationalism and unity in Israel not seen in most other states. Over the next several pages I will try and dissect the reasons for why the nation state of Israel has been emerged in constant conflict and how this conflict has helped foster national unity and identity among the people of Israel.
My personal cultural identity is a lot different compared to the society I am surrounded by. I am considered an outsider in my society. I am an outsider living in a constantly changing environment where there are many different kinds of people and many different cultural identities. In my culture we know how to respect people and their belongings, know how to work hard, use what we have while being thankful for it at the same time, and last we know how to stay true to ourselves in this very fast pace world of ours. I am a cowboy.
“You are only allowed to make racist jokes if it’s about your own race.” This saying, which radiated through the halls of my middle school that prided itself for its diversity, managed to make me feel more comfortable in my own skin. Why did the ability to make fun of two different races, while many of my peers could only make fun of one, validate my own racial identity? I should not have wanted to tease my race and my ancestors but it helped me feel comfortable, even though I knew my knowledge of the cultures I was born into was lacking.
All of my life I have labeled myself as Jewish, although I have not once ever questioned what it means to be Jewish. I have spent many years of my life in an orthodox Hebrew school and excessive hours in Synagogue simply because my parents told me I had to go. I did not understand why I spent so much time in a place that I felt had no importance to me. This was until my perspective was changed my Junior year when I took an interest in the land of Israel. It all started when I began learning about my heritage in a teen group and following traditions such as celebrating Shabbat weekly. I have been to Israel before, but did not appreciate my time there because I was younger and thought it was just another vacation. My second time there I realized that Israel is a land of learning and the homeland of the Jewish people.
Identity-“Ones personal qualities.”Identiy is something only he or she can fully define. My uncle says I am affectionate,cheerful, and calm. My grandmother sees me as slim, pretty and sweet. My dad described me as perky, cheerful and happy, my mom says beautiful, gentle, and self-conscious. These adjectives describe me accurately, yet they are only abstract versions of me. Adjectives cannot begin to describe me and I aknowlege these descriptions for what they are, a condensed translation from my outward self to the world. It is impossible for anyone to understand me completely because nobody has experienced the things I have. My mother has never cherished a raggedy doll named Katie and my father never spent hours upon hours making collages and scrap books for his future children. My uncle never hid in the back of a pick-up-truck and traveled four hours to New York and my grandmother has never walked hours in the rain looking for the Queen of England. My identity is something only I can define.
When I think of Hanukkah I mostly think of three things Family, the Maccabees and all the games that you get to play. During my Hanukkah dinner with my family we always have so much fun and it is always a great memory. When I hear stories over and over again they usually get boring but not the story about the Maccabees. The story about the Maccabees is probably the best story that I have ever heard. When I first started learning about Hanukkah I was very little, and what gets the attention of little kids better than games. My teacher first taught us about all the games that you play on Hanukkah and I was so amazed that during this holladay we get to play so many amazing games, we get to spin the dreidel and not
Not only because of my Jewish identity, but having lived there and it being a second home for me, Israel is very important to me. That being said, I will of course always support Israel, but there is some discourse which is not always worth my time and energy. Firstly, it all depends on what setting I am in. For example, I will not get into an argument if I am the only Jew in a room surrounded by a bunch of patriotic Palestinians. I would never engage in discourse that may risk my physical security. However, I would get into a political discussion to defend Israel in a classroom setting and attend local rallies. Additionally, I will never get into a debate on social media. I sometimes look at these political comments online for fun because they make me laugh, but I do not participate as I know that I can not change someone’s opinion via a Facebook
I never would have considered myself a typical minority when it came to my racial identity. I know what it takes to be successful, I play the oboe, and even though I come from a not so typical family background, that has never stopped me from continuing to strive in everything I put myself into. My mother and father came from a poor background but were able to overcome this poverty to make a better life for their children and themselves. They both lived in the projects and were not expected to graduate high school let alone attend college. Because of this, my parents have always talked to me how important an education is and I want to continue learning every single day. They have always encouraged me to do the things that I love to do, in