Resources and Articles by David Breakstone

 

Breakstone, David

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Dr. David Breakstone is the Head of the Department for Zionist Activities of the World Zionist Organization, and a member of the WZO Executive where he is the official representative of MERCAZ Olami (the worldwide Zionist arm of Masorti / Conservative Judaism). Prior to assuming this position in the fall of 2000, Dr. Breakstone was the Director of Ramah Programs in Israel. In the past he also served as the Director of Hebrew University's Pedagogic Center for Jewish Education and as Assistant Dean and Director of Education at the Masorti Movement's Seminary of Jewish Studies (now The Schechter Institute). He has published numerous articles, books, and curricula on Jewish education, the teaching of Israel, Conservative Judaism, Israel-Diaspora relations, and Zionism. He earned his doctorate at Hebrew University in the Institute of Contemporary Jewry and the Melton Center for Jewish Education, specializing in the Teaching of Israel.
Dr. Breakstone has been active in the Masorti Movement for over 25 years, holding numerous positions on both a local and national level, most recently as Chairman of the Movement. He is currently a member of the board of Kehillat Moreshet Avraham in Talpiot Mizrach. He made aliya from the United States in 1974, and performed his army service in the Education Corps of the Israel Defense Forces. He lives in Jerusalem, is married to an olah from Chile, and is the father of three children.

The Imperative of Fashoning Israel as an Exemplary Society:  Positive Zionism
The moral code that we have been commanded to live by is not only a guide for individual behavior; far more profoundly, it is also the blueprint for building a society “in the place that I have prepared for you“. [Full article...]
Israel
Zionism > Zionism Revisited


The Jerusalem Program 2004:  Herzl's Unfinished Business
The new Jerusalem Program, adopted by the Zionist General Council in June 2004, is testimony not only to the ongoing relevance of Herzl’s dreams, but also to the determination of the Zionist movement he founded to address emerging realities. Anti-Semitism may not have vanished, as Herzl predicted it would, and the ideal social order he portrayed in his 1902 utopian novel “Old-New Land” is yet to emerge. But the old-new Jerusalem Program is an unequivocal declaration that the will to meet these challenges is as resolute as ever. [Full article...]
Anti-Semitism
Zionism > Essential Zionist Texts
Zionism > Zionism and the Diaspora


Herzl and Me:  A Visit to Altneuland and its Relevance to the Teaching of Israel Today
In the face of all that is wrong with Israel today, it is important for us to remind ourselves of what it is that the Zionist movement set out to do, and, as teachers of Israel, to go "back to the basics" in conveying Israel's story to our students. Altneuland provides us the opportunity to do that. [Full article...]
Education
Judaism > Jewish Identity
Zionism > Zionism and the Diaspora
Anti-Semitism


The Zionist Imperative:  Facing Extinction: Confessions of an Ardent Zionist
Zionism is facing extinction today because Zionist leaders evidence little commitment to the ideological imperatives for which they supposedly stand. As a result, they are responsible for blurring the important distinctions between Zionism and pro-Israelism. To rectify the situation, Zionist organizations and activists must undergo a profound change in consciousness themselves, and strive to bring about such a change in others. They need to rededicate themselves to an operative Zionist agenda, including aliyah, Hebrew study, Zionist education, renewal of a Jewish national culture, and involvement in the forging of an exemplary Jewish society in Israel. [Full article...]
Zionism > Zionism Revisited


Israel and the Diaspora:  Aliya is a four-letter word
An article written by David Breakstone, (Head of the Department for Zionist Activities of the World Zionist Organization and a member of the Executive of the Jewish Agency and WZO), originally published in the Jerusalem Post. [Full article...]
Aliyah InfoBase
Zionism > Zionism and the Diaspora


Personal Viewpoint:  On Possession and Conciousness
An article written by David Breakstone, (Head of the Department for Zionist Activities of the World Zionist Organization and a member of the Executive of the Jewish Agency and WZO), expressing his own views, regarding the status of Jerusalem in the peace negotiations. The Temple Mount, Jerusalem's holiest site, is the most disputed area in the world and Mr. Breakstone outlines the concessions that he believes must be made to achieve a just and lasting peace. [Full article...]
Israel > Jerusalem
Peace Process