Not Your Parents' Youth Movement, Season 3, Episode 18

Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education

Empowerment. Ownership of your own destiny. Social engines of change. These were factors that spurred on the Zionist youth movement phenomenon and established their prominence in the 20th century. As historian Walter Laqueur once said, "[The youth movement] won't be merely a footnote in the story of the Jewish people, but a whole chapter." But can Zionist youth movements succeed in the 21st century? Are they equipped to fight the powerful forces at work today?

David Bryfman waxes nostalgic on Zionist youth movements with this week’s Adapting guest, Jonny Ariel, an “Education Connoisseur” with 35 years of experience in Jewish education, and a one-time "Jewish Youth Leader of the Year" in the movement for Soviet Jewry. The two also debate the future of Zionist youth movements, if they must still be built on counterculture, or will require a whole new paradigm to flourish in a very different world.

This episode was produced by Dina Nusnbaum and Miranda Lapides.

The show’s executive producers are David Bryfman, Karen Cummins, and Nessa Liben. This episode was engineered and edited by Nathan J. Vaughan of NJV Media.

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