Editors’ Introduction v44 n2

Contemporary Jewry https://doi.org/10.1007/s12397-024-09575-5 Editors’ Introduction v44 n2 Harriet Hartman1 · Adina Bankier‑Karp2 © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2024 When Maja Hultman and Joachim Schlorr first proposed their special issue on Jewish virtual spaces in Europe, the editorial board and we as editors requested a lot of clarification. We wanted to understand the significance of the virtual developments for Jewish life in Europe, as well as what data and case studies were available, and whether they would be intelligible to the Contemporary Jewry reader. Studies of virtuality are not common nor easy to conduct, despite their importance in contemporary society. Convinced by the guest editors of its long-term significance [beyond the virtuality necessitated by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 pandemic)], the special issue was given the green light to proceed. We are indeed grateful for the insight it provides into the ramifications for Jewish life in Europe and beyond, as well as the challenges virtual Jewishness presents, with virtuality magnifying some challenges as well as facilitating some benefits. Jewish life in Europe is particularly precarious at this time, and it is important to add this virtual dimension to the picture to understand it better. Over the past three decades, scholars have studied evolving “Jewish Spaces” and “virtual Jewishness” in Europe, which Maja Hultman and Joachim Schlorr introduce to us. While initially viewed as promising inclusive and democratic environments, extremists in Europe from both the right and left wings of the political spectrum have fueled racism, xenophobia, and antisemitism in the early 2020s—especially in response to conflicts such as the current Israeli–Hamas war—which has posed significant challenges. This special issue examines how digital platforms help European Jews and non-Jews navigate these crises, evaluating whether these spaces can support Jewish life and interfaith relations amid growing antisemitism. This special issue explores the potential of digital spaces to foster Jewish/non-Jewish interactions, co-construct memories, and shape contemporary Jewish identity, despite the sociopolitical complexities and limitations. * Harriet Hartman Adina Bankier‑Karp ; 1 Rowan University, Glassboro, USA 2 Monash University, Melbourne, Australia 13 Vol.:(0123456789) H. Hartman, A. Bankier‑Karp The editors articulate several important arguments that merit discussion. First, virtual European Jewish spaces are sites of Jewish and non-Jewish interactions, cultural co-construction, and the development of a sense of shared heritage. These spaces are crucial for the creative and collaborative processes that shape contemporary understandings of Jewish culture and history. Virtual European Jewish spaces also offer continuity and support, which was especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic. Secondly, virtual Jewish spaces face significant challenges, given that they are vulnerable to antisemitism much like physical spaces, and may not always facilitate meaningful relationship building. One of the challenges inherent to virtuality relates to claims they are fake or inherently inauthentic, which the guest editors maintain are unsubstantiated. The guest editors also add that strengths and limitations of virtuality must be acknowledged, and these spaces must be designed to harness virtuality’s strengths. Finally, the guest editors express hope that digital and virtual Jewish spaces can nurture Jewish/non-Jewish co-construction, leading to innovative solutions that incorporate Jewish history into broader European narratives. This, in turn, could foster sociability and mutual understanding in situations where physical interactions are limited or impossible. In their introduction to the special issue, the guest editors elaborate on these claims and introduce the contributions of each of the five essays included. We hope you will find this special issue provocative and enlightening. We follow this symposium with three “regular” research articles, introducing a change that Contemporary Jewry will incorporate starting in 2025: Articles and reviews will be included in our print publication as they are ready to be published, without waiting for special issues. Articles that otherwise would have waited to be collected in special issues will be expedited to publication as part of Springer’s “Collections,” rather than waiting for the rest of a special issue’s articles to be ready for publication. As articles on the same subject area are published, they will be added to these Collections. Thus far, we have four collections available: one for the Marshall Sklare Memorial addresses, another for articles on the Pew 2020 survey, another for articles discussing Jews of Color (which will include those in the upcoming special issue on the topic), and another for European Virtual Jewish Spaces (including the articles in this special issue). See https://link.springer.com/journal/12397/ collections?filter=articlesAvailable for more information on these collections. Our last special issue will be on the topic of “Response to and Emergence from Crisis,” appearing as v44(4) this year. The first of the current issue’s “regular” articles is Benji Davis and Hanan Alexander’s “‘You Never Told Me’: The Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) of Israel Education,” which details the findings of a phenomenological study of 20 Israel educators working in English-speaking high schools. The authors claim these Israel educators differentiate themselves from those of earlier generations through their embrace of greater nuance and less idealized conceptions of Israel, in both the content they convey and the pedagogies with which they convey it. Eight recommendations are made for Israel education 13 Editors’ Introduction v44 n2 across educational contexts, including discussion of the Arab–Israeli conflict, which seems unignorable in the post-October 7 period. Ehud Nahir’s “Pre-Military Preparatory Schools (Mechinot) in Israel as Models for Informal Education” delves into the content and pedagogy of Mechina programs in Israel. Drawing on thematically analyzed qualitative interviews with participants across secular, religious, and mixed mechinot, themes including identity, autonomy, and affiliation are identified, as well as the informal approach, each maintained to contribute to the popularity of the program. Lilach Lev Ari’s “Native-Born and Migrants, in Brussels: Social Integration, ‘Bubbles’ and Acculturation” focuses on two groups of Jewish women who reside in Brussels, native-born and migrants, regarding their social integration into native-born Jewish and non-Jewish communities. Using the metaphor of “bubbles,” Lev Ari compares the overlap between the social groups, their fluidity, as well as the isolation of each as they create social networks that build and shape ethnic–diasporic communities. Updates (...truncated)