Cultural Topic: Family

[David R. Stevens]

The topic of family is extremely important in both Jewish and Israeli culture. The background of Jewish history of assimilation, diaspora, and persecution.  This makes being Jewish a very familial thing. This semester I started to conduct research with Hillel on the Former Soviet Union and immigration for religious freedom to the U.S. and Israel. From the conversations I've had, these people were scared to be publicly Jewish, and thus religion was something that was only shared among family. I feel like this culture of familial importance and emphasis has spread to Israel. Since Israel is an immigrant nation, people arriving in Israel not only spoke different languages, but brought with them different ideals and and practices. While over time Hebrew and an Israeli culture dominate, Israelis still hold close to them the unique traditions of their families and pass them on throughout the generations. For me, I hold the Jewish traditions and values, but I am also culturally mixed with my Italian catholic side of the family which has allowed me to learn more about both cultures.