Being There for Educators: Anne Lanski and Michael Soberman

In the immediate aftermath of the horrific Hamas terror attack on Israel on October 7, the iCenter faced a dilemma. As an organization dedicated to supporting Jewish and Israel educators around the world, it had to jump into action. As an organization that is committed to long-term systemic change, it had to think through its strategy. “Our expertise is not crisis response, but rather being responsive to crisis by supporting educators and learners,” said Anne Lanski, CEO of the iCenter.

First and foremost, the iCenter checked in with its Israel-based staff and 2000+ person alumni network. “We have staff in Israel who are traumatized,” said Lanski. “And many of those in North America are Israelis or have close family in Israel.” Then they turned to their network. “In addition to needing educational resources, alumni and Jewish educators in the field said they need space and support.”

“We heard it over and over again,” said Michael Soberman, a senior educational consultant to the the iCenter. “Jewish educators—and especially Israel educators—were being asked to support and assist everyone around them. But who was there for them? The Israel educators, who had such a strong relationship with Israel and Israelis, were hurting badly, but still they needed to organize programs, talk to members of their community, listen to people in crisis, and respond to those who wanted information.”

“The issues educators are confronting right now are both timely and timeless, both in terms of the subject matter and the challenges of addressing it. We need to respond by relating directly to the educators and their circumstances. This is the core of our educational philosophy: relationships,” said Lanski.

The iCenter was founded in 2008 to create and then rapidly advance the field of Israel education. “Our mission is to catalyze excellence in the professional field of Israel education by supporting the development of educators, pioneering new educational approaches, and promoting a relational and learner-centered philosophy,” said Lanski. “Our end goal,” added Soberman, “is that learners from early childhood through young adulthood, and then extending beyond to the educators themselves, will have the opportunity to develop deep and meaningful relationships with Israel and Israelis.”

There are three hallmarks of the iCenter’s approach to field building:

1. Providing academic credentialing and professional certification of Israel educators—something that did not exist previously in the Jewish education and Jewish communal world.
2. Creating a language for the field—12 key educational principles that the iCenter refers to as The Aleph-Bet of Israel Education. These include creating immersive and integrative Israel education, being inclusive of diverse narratives, and experiencing Israel firsthand.
3. Convening the field of Israel education including educators, funders, and communal organizations. One of the clearest manifestations of this purpose is the iCenter’s signature biennial gathering, iCON, which took place most recently in March 2023 and brought together hundreds of educators to learn from each other and from important voices in the field.

The iCenter partners on professional learning opportunities with major Jewish educational organizations including 12 academic institutions, Birthright Israel, RootOne, and the Jewish Agency for Israel. It also works directly with communities, schools, camps, JCCs, and other Jewish communal institutions supporting the integration of Israel education into Jewish learning and education.

“One of the most important things we provide is the capacity for educators to see themselves as professionals, as people who are in a position to facilitate learning effectively,” said Lanski.

Soberman offered the example of a camp counselor. “Most role models in informal settings don’t identify as educators. It used to be that Israel education in camp was owned by a shaliah (Israeli emissary) or two; now every madrikh (counselor) contributes to cultivating a connection with Israel.” The challenge, according to Lanski, is that most camp counselors do not see themselves as educators, and so the iCenter has invested a lot of effort in changing this paradigm.

“What we can provide is the knowledge, information, context, and understanding of what questions are being asked right now and why they are being asked. This approach makes Israel education systemic and cuts across all parts of any educational setting,” said Lanski. “Our hope is that when you walk in a school, you see how Israel is infused across every touch point. We want to fulfill the goal that Israel is integral to Jewish life and learning, experiences, and people.”

Reflecting on the present challenges presented by the Israel-Hamas war, Lanski said: “Part of why this time is so painful is because North Americans have real people in mind when they think about the war. These relationships between North Americans and Israelis can bring us both joy and pain. We need to be able to recognize and be responsive to both. We need to show our educators and learners, wherever they are, that we are in this together and we will see it through together.”