Sivan Zakai is the Sara S. Lee Associate Professor of Jewish Education at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.

"Featuring impressive data and compelling prose, My Second-Favorite Country is the first longitudinal study of American Jewish children that is outside of the framework of heritage tourism. . . . Will certainly make a lasting impression in the field of Jewish Studies." - Ari Y. Kelman, Stanford University "Exceptionally well-crafted and fascinating. By illustrating Jewish-American children's grappling with identity and community, Zakai has provided a necessary and long overdue contribution to Jewish Studies." - Theodore Sasson, Middlebury College "Rich in anecdotes, featuring children sharing their thoughts in their own words, My Second-Favorite Country serves as important testimony that conveys the need to listen to children on the topic of Israel. By arguing for making Israel part of what Jewish children know versus just a place they have positive feelings about, Zakai charts a course forward for helping them become authentically attached to Israel." (Contemporary Jewry) "In My Second-Favorite Country: How American Jewish Children Think About Israel, Sivan Zakai offers a novel suggestion for how to approach Israel education: let's listen carefully to students' sense-making. Zakais' book is a must-read for educators who see it as their responsibility to help students make sense of the world in which they live, in which we all live, and in which we all may have a lasting impact." (Reading Religion) "Zakai (Jewish education, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Los Angeles) has written an important study about how Jewish American children attending Jewish day schools relate to Israel." (CHOICE)

Sivan Zakai is the Sara S. Lee Associate Professor of Jewish Education at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.

"Featuring impressive data and compelling prose, My Second-Favorite Country is the first longitudinal study of American Jewish children that is outside of the framework of heritage tourism. . . . Will certainly make a lasting impression in the field of Jewish Studies." - Ari Y. Kelman, Stanford University "Exceptionally well-crafted and fascinating. By illustrating Jewish-American children's grappling with identity and community, Zakai has provided a necessary and long overdue contribution to Jewish Studies." - Theodore Sasson, Middlebury College "Rich in anecdotes, featuring children sharing their thoughts in their own words, My Second-Favorite Country serves as important testimony that conveys the need to listen to children on the topic of Israel. By arguing for making Israel part of what Jewish children know versus just a place they have positive feelings about, Zakai charts a course forward for helping them become authentically attached to Israel." (Contemporary Jewry) "In My Second-Favorite Country: How American Jewish Children Think About Israel, Sivan Zakai offers a novel suggestion for how to approach Israel education: let's listen carefully to students' sense-making. Zakais' book is a must-read for educators who see it as their responsibility to help students make sense of the world in which they live, in which we all live, and in which we all may have a lasting impact." (Reading Religion) "Zakai (Jewish education, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Los Angeles) has written an important study about how Jewish American children attending Jewish day schools relate to Israel." (CHOICE)

Sivan Zakai is the Sara S. Lee Associate Professor of Jewish Education at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.

"Featuring impressive data and compelling prose, My Second-Favorite Country is the first longitudinal study of American Jewish children that is outside of the framework of heritage tourism. . . . Will certainly make a lasting impression in the field of Jewish Studies." - Ari Y. Kelman, Stanford University "Exceptionally well-crafted and fascinating. By illustrating Jewish-American children's grappling with identity and community, Zakai has provided a necessary and long overdue contribution to Jewish Studies." - Theodore Sasson, Middlebury College "Rich in anecdotes, featuring children sharing their thoughts in their own words, My Second-Favorite Country serves as important testimony that conveys the need to listen to children on the topic of Israel. By arguing for making Israel part of what Jewish children know versus just a place they have positive feelings about, Zakai charts a course forward for helping them become authentically attached to Israel." (Contemporary Jewry) "In My Second-Favorite Country: How American Jewish Children Think About Israel, Sivan Zakai offers a novel suggestion for how to approach Israel education: let's listen carefully to students' sense-making. Zakais' book is a must-read for educators who see it as their responsibility to help students make sense of the world in which they live, in which we all live, and in which we all may have a lasting impact." (Reading Religion) "Zakai (Jewish education, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Los Angeles) has written an important study about how Jewish American children attending Jewish day schools relate to Israel." (CHOICE)