There is little doubt that Israel education is one of the most vital arenas of North American Jewish education. Over the past decade, few initiatives have received more communal attention — or financial investment — than those designed to enhance American Jews’ identities and strengthen their connections to Israel. From day schools and summer camps to Israel travel programs and digital media, Israel education is flourishing. 

In yesterday’s op-ed in eJewishPhilanthropy, OpenDor’s Noam Weissman celebrated the growth and evolution of the field’s commitment to complexity. While he quotes important scholarship, his piece actually reflects a long-standing tendency in Israel education to choose vibes over research. 

So, what’s the vibe? There are many, but one of the most persistent is the idea that Israel education ought to be “complex.” Over a decade ago, two top scholars in the field, Alex Sinclair and Barry Chazan debated this idea in eJP. Alex Pomson and Robbie Gringas wrote a piece a few years back on the confusion regarding complexity in Israel education. Many organizations champion complexity, and some have evaluation data to back it up. Educators, funders and thought leaders have all offered their perspectives on the need for complexity in Israel education for a while now.

This consensus, while not new, is a noteworthy vision for Israel education. But it’s mostly based on a sense that “complexity” (whatever that might be) is a good and appropriate focus for Israel education. But do we know what it broadly looks like or how it is learned? No. Do we know how people who experience Israel education turn complexity into understanding or action?  No.  

For all the attention it has received, complexity is mostly a vibe. 

We want to move the field of Israel education from vibes to insights. Right now, we know little about how learners have taken what they learned and used it to navigate their worlds. What parts of their experiences have proven useful as they navigate a world on edge, where antisemitism is on the rise and criticism of Israel is rampant? 

Despite some important studies on vision and teaching, we still know surprisingly little about how Israel education actually functions in the lives of its participants. How do young Jews apply what they’ve learned in Jewish settings when they face real-world challenges — on college campuses, in conversations with friends or when scrolling social media? What helps them feel equipped, and what leaves them feeling adrift?

What happens when students who spent years in Jewish day schools, attended summer camps and youth groups or went on a Birthright Israel or RootOne trip find themselves confronted with anti-Israel protests or rising antisemitism on campus? Do they feel prepared to respond? What responses do they think are warranted? What do they understand about Israel? Do they draw on their Israel education? Do they question it? Do they even remember it? 

We don’t have enough answers. And we should.

Especially after Oct. 7, with rising antisemitism and polarization, we believe it is absolutely necessary to understand with greater clarity how students acquire, apply, and adapt their Israel education to the complex terrain of campus and community life. The American Jewish community deserves education driven not just on what we think our students should know or feel about Israel, but what, how, and why they learn about it. They deserve more than education driven by vibes.

We believe the next step is not just being content with a communal consensus about what feels appropriate. Moving beyond vibes, we want to see systematically collected and analyzed research about what young Jews are doing with their Israel education.

We need a more rigorous understanding of how Israel education is experienced, interpreted and adapted by participants, and what impact it has — if any — when tested in the post Oct. 7 climate.

If we’re serious about Israel education, then we need to acknowledge vibes are not enough. Now’s the time for some serious research. Our students deserve it. 

Benji Davis is the Israel Institute teaching and research fellow at George Mason University. 

Ari Y. Kelman is the Jim Joseph Professor of Education and Jewish Studies in the Stanford Graduate School of Education.