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American Jewish Students Finding Their Place in Democracy

JL;DR SUMMARY Jewish high school students in the U.S. are navigating complex loyalties to family, local community, religious identity, American citizenship, and connection to Israel through educational exercises that map and assess these affiliations. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

IdentityJewish EducationAmerican JewsPluralismLoyaltyHigh SchoolPolitical IdentityCivic Duty

Places mentioned

United States
"I feel more responsibility to Americanot necessarily to serve in the military, but to engage politically and reach out to lawmakers when I feel policies are unfair."
Israel
"Alexs question abovewhether supporting pro-Israel candidates makes him a bad citizenshows that dual loyalty is not only an accusation from outside but a lived internal tension."

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Retrieved 2026-03-25 05:30:31 UTC
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