Travel

"location location location" – a practitioner's perspectives on diaspora Jewish travel

Jeremy Leigh

pp. 633-649

in: Helena Miller, Lisa Grant, Alex Pomson (eds), International handbook of Jewish education, Berlin, Springer, 2011

Abstract

For many years Jewish educational travel has been heavily Israel-centred, both as a destination and the basis of the core narrative. This chapter discusses the possibilities of a broader range of Diaspora locations and sites for Jewish travel as well as the educational implications contained therein. Typically, travel sites invite an engagement with "the past", the interconnected realms of history and memory. Consideration must be given to the politics of interpreting the past, with particular emphasis on dialogical relationships between the past (represented by the site) and the present (the student). In addition, travel offers a rich opportunity to engage with many core values (e.g. "place"; community; culture; mutuality and self-awareness) and their meaning for contemporary Jews. Finally, the chapter discusses an expanded understanding of what are conventionally referred to as sites, including "people as sites' and "invisible" locations. Relying on anecdotal observation, the chapter presents a practitioner's reflection on educational travel built up over many years.