JCC PROCON CONFERENCE | Florida

JCCs have a unique DNA. Rooted in Jewish community, identity, and connection to Israel, they also bring together remarkably diverse populations across generations, backgrounds, political perspectives, religious identities, levels of knowledge, and relationships with Israel. As a result, conversations about Israel and the Middle East do not live only within “Israel programming.” They surface across the JCC, among staff, members, parents, teens, boards, educators, community partners, and others. For professionals reimagining Jewish community, the question is increasingly not only what programs should we offer, but how do we create meaningful education and engagement for people who may enter these conversations from very different places?

In this interactive session, Avi Melamed will introduce the educational framework at the heart of Inside The Middle East | ITME, grounded in the principle: To Understand Israel, the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, and the Palestinians, We Must Understand The Middle East. Participants will experience the framework in action through a focused mini-briefing on the Axis of Resistance, examining the gap between how the term “resistance” is often understood and portrayed in Western discourse and the actors, objectives, interests, and impact “resistance” has had on the people in the region Through this example, Avi will demonstrate how apolitical Middle East education, intelligence-based critical thinking and media literacy, and perspectives from regional experts and voices often absent from Western discourse can change the way people understand Israel and the region.

Drawing on ITME’s extensive experience across the JCC movement, the session will then examine why this approach works across audiences that do not necessarily begin with the same politics, knowledge, experiences, or relationship with Israel, and what that means for JCC professionals thinking strategically about their own communities. Participants will leave better educated about a critical Middle East issue, with a deeper understanding of ITME’s distinct educational approach and its impact, and with a practical lens for asking: Who in our community most needs this education? What do they need to understand? Where can education have the greatest impact? Those questions can help JCC professionals move beyond simply planning programs to thinking more strategically about how education can strengthen discourse, connection, and community.