Introduction:

This activity teaches participants about two important concepts – dual loyalty and living in two civilizations – and helps participants reflect on their Jewish-American identities.

Materials:

• Writing implements
• Paper or sticky notes – Printed sources (you can print this sheet, which contains 3 copies of each)

Program Outline (30 minutes):

• Reading Sources (5 minutes)
• Source Discussion (10 minutes)
• Diagrams and Discussion (15 minutes)

Reading Sources (5 minutes)

Read the following two sources aloud or, if possible, have participants read printed-out sources:

Dual Loyalty is an implied or direct accusation that Jews in the diaspora are ultimately more loyal to Israel or a secret Jewish cabal than the country in which they have citizenship, often a traitorous “fifth column,” meaning they are undermining their country from within.. This trope became popularized through the “stab-in-the-back myth” after WWI, when German Jews were falsely blamed for betraying German soldiers and contributing to Germany’s defeat. (adapted from Facing History & Ourselves)

“Jews must reckon with the circumstance that they live under varying national and political conditions…the [Jewish] citizen of a modern state is not only permitted but encouraged to give allegiance to two civilizations: one, the secular civilization of the country in which [they] live, and the other, the [Jewish] civilization which [they] have inherited from the past… The separation of church from state has put into the class of hyphenates all who adhere to both organizations.” — Rabbi Mordechai Kaplan, Judaism as a Civilization (1934)

Source Discussion (10 minutes)

• How is the idea of living in two civilizations similar or different from the idea of dual loyalty?
• How do these ideas resonate (or not) with your experience of being both American & Jewish?
• What makes you feel most American? Most Jewish? How would you define those terms?
• When have your Jewish and American identities felt in conflict? In sync?
• Are pride and identity related concepts for you?

Diagram and Discussion (15 minutes)

Finally, ask participants to draw a diagram representing the relationship between their American and Jewish identities, and then explain. Here are a few examples: