Over 40 Jewish Studies teachers from around Australia gathered in Melbourne on 11 – 12
September for the Zionist Federation of Australia’s Teaching Israel conference.

The conference was facilitated by the renowned Israeli expert in the field, Tuvia Book, who has
written the internationally acclaimed Israel education curriculum, “For the Sake of Zion.” (JAFI: 2010)

The tenth anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy provided a poignant context to a seminar which aims to explain the complex realities of Israel and its place in the world.

The conference was an opportunity for lilmod ulelamed, “to teach and to learn,” and representatives from the schools shared their programs and ideas, within an atmosphere of mutual respect and knowledge-sharing.

Rabbi James Kennard, Principal of Mt. Scopus, presented a keynote address, in which he explored
the issue of anti-Zionism, Jewish identity and connection to Israel. He stressed that Israel education needs to be predicated on a love of Israel, intimate knowledge of history and profound emotional attachment to Israel.

Tuvia presented various sessions including a moving session on Zionist Heroes and Role Models,
focusing on astronaut Ilan Ramon.

Tuvia remarked: “The most important thing is that, what enabled the Jewish people to survive, and indeed thrive, over the millennia is a deep attachment to our tradition, people and land.”

Philip Chester, ZFA President stated: “Israel education for our next generation is a priority for the
ZFA, and we are delighted to have presented this seminar to complement our biennial Educators’
Conference. The feedback from participants has been overwhelmingly positive. Tuvia Book brought the complex issues around teaching Israel in schools to the fore, offering ideas and importantly, inspiration to the educators present.”