Good TV in February

Sorry for the long delay, folks, since my last content-filled posting.  I have quite a few little articles in the works that I hope to post here in February.  Now that my role as a candidate in the Bronfman contest has officially ended, I am writing to clarify a few “loose ends” in my proposal (for those who were truly interested in its models and ideas), to comment on the continuing developments in the contest, and perhaps to figure out (with the help of my readers and comment writers) where we all might go from here with our big ideas.  Anyway, on to my next topic: television.

Two new television shows are appearing on cable and satellite television in the United States this month.  While these two shows are completely different, they both relate to core ideas in my writing.

Ni Hao, Kai-lan is a new animated program for preschoolers on Noggin and Nickelodeon, the children’s networks that are famous for bringing the bilingual shows Dora the Explorer and Go, Diego, Go! into American homes.  Kai-lan Chow, the six year old heroine of the series, is a playful little girl who is fluent in both English and Chinese.  As the official website describes this new series:

“Ni Hao, Kai-lan is the next generation of preschool television programming that introduces the psychology of bi-culturalism. If Dora and Diego popularized bilingualism, Kai-lan will weave together being bilingual and bi-cultural. Ni Hao, Kai-lan reinforces the idea that being bi-cultural and bilingual is being American.”

This show fascinates me because its producers see it as an evolution from a successful core model.  In other words, I think many parents will think in terms of the differences between Dora and Kai-lan (i.e. Spanish language and culture versus Chinese language and culture).  However, the similarities are much more important than the differences.   We may be seeing the very beginning of a new wave of bi-cultural television, specifically geared toward pre-schoolers, which not only aims to provide foundational language skills but also a strong psychological foundation for growing up bi-culturally.  (Of course, the series I’m waiting for would be named something like Boker Tov, Boaz.). 

While we often read, in the American press, about the cultural backlash against globalization, immigration (legal or otherwise), and foreign influences, there is another, less discussed trend: American families eagerly seeking out foreign language learning for their children.  A New York Times article on the Kai-lan series, published last year while the show was still in development, contains an enlightening quote from Marty Abbott, director of education at the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language:

“We get a lot of calls from parents of preschoolers and elementary school students asking how they can help establish language programs in their schools. They’ve seen how engaged their children are with Dora. There’s a natural curiosity and openness to language at that age.”

Of course, another advantage (at least to the producers of this series) is that bilingual programs seem to transcend national markets very easily.  In a globalized world, everybody seems to want their kids to gain exposure to other cultures (which might include their ancestral culture).  One 2007 news article on the new Kai-lan program states that Nickelodeon’s parent company Viacom “intends to distribute the show around the globe”.  Look for little Kai-lan saying “Ni Hao!” soon on a television near you!  (As for Boker Tov, Boaz, we’ll just have to keep waiting…).

Mahadurat Ha-Shevet is a new program on the Israeli Network, which I have previously written about in my proposal and subsequent posts.  This is the first television show that I am aware of that specifically targets the Israeli American community.  The big question here (assuming that a significant number of Israeli expats and other “Hebrew Americans” tune in) is the extent to which the show, along with other media, can strengthen the foundations of the Israeli Diaspora.  I hope to continually write about what I see on this show.

Stay tuned, folks!

In Praise of the Israeli Network

I am guessing that many readers will not have heard of the Israeli Network.  It is a 24 hour television station, broadcasting current Israeli television throughout the Diaspora.  In the United States, the Israeli Network is available to Dish TV satellite television subscribers.

I personally believe that the Israeli Network is one of the great recent innovations in Jewish life, perhaps on par with Birthright Israel or other philanthropic initiatives.  I believe this, in spite of the fact that this station has a limited subscriber base, and few American Jews seem to have heard of it (outside of the Israeli expatriate community, of course).

There are a number of factors that make the Israeli Network so compelling to me:

• Different perspectives on current events “over there”.  There are many news and current events programs on the Israeli Network, but “London at Kirshenbaum” is my favorite.  In addition to discussion of major events in the Israeli news, the show features detailed analysis of Arab affairs almost every day.
• Different perspectives on current events “over here”.   The “London at Kirshenbaum” program also features almost daily coverage of U.S. political scene (since we’re entering an election year).  It is fascinating to see how the American political scene gets reinterpreted through the perspective of Israeli commentators.
• New takes on familiar program formulas.   The types of Israeli television  shows generally mimic what can be found here at home – sitcoms, soap operas, and plenty of sports coverage (I’m guessing that plenty of Israeli expats need their soccer updates).  However, there always seems to be something slightly different when the Israelis implement a familiar formula.  For instance, Lior Shleyn hosts a nightly talk show that looks very similar to the Conan O’Brien show (with a touch of the antics found on Jon Stewart’s news program).  However, Lior’s show is more than just a Hebrew speaking copycat.  There seems to be an unspoken camaraderie with the guests, and a touch of self-deprecating wit, that somehow makes this appear particularly Israeli.
• Uniquely Israeli situations.  “Mesudarim” (roughly translated as “set for life”) is a situation comedy about four friends who made a bundle of cash (around $215 million) when they sold their hi-tech start-up company.  Sure, sitcoms about groups of friends are hardly original (just think of ”Friends” and “Seinfeld“).  On the other hand, this particular situation may resonate much more strongly within Israel (where hi-tech companies have sprouted up almost everywhere).  When I watch Mesudarim, I also think about the more ambivalent/nerdy way that American television portrays techies (think of current shows like “The Big Bang Theory” on CBS, or “Chuck” on NBC).
• Holiday features.  The little station identification symbol, during Hanukkah, was a little image of hanukiyah(with the correct number of lit candles every night), with “I Had a Little Dreidel” playing in the background.  Yes, this is silly, but it’s these little reminders of “Jewish time” that remind me I’m watching Jewish television.  (I also loved a quick, ten minute documentary that showed a group of police officers lighting a hanukiyah together in their station.)
• Live broadcasts as needed.  In the event of breaking news and important events, the Israeli Network is prepared to broadcast live coverage from Israel.  Also, worth noting are the ”pseudo-live” events; the station recently broadcast a telethon (Sherutrom) to benefit IDF personnel.  Displaying a phone number on the screen for making pledges (along with a scrolling ticker at the top of the screen, listing names of contributors) made me feel like I was watching an Israeli version of the Jerry Lewis Labor Day telethon.
• The commercials define a new kind of market.  Ironically, one of my favorite parts of each show is the commercials!  Through advertising on the station, I have learned about restaurants and grocery stores in South Florida (where I live) that I had never heard of before, as well as similar establishments across the U.S. 
• The opportunity for locally produced broadcasts. The station’s website states that they hope to produce a new program, called “Mahadurat HaShevet” (translated as “The Tribe Edition” – it’s a play on words of “Mahadurat Shabbat“, the Sabbath edition of a newspaper or program).  The program would feature video clips produced in the U.S. by Hebrew speakers.  If this program idea really took off, it could possibly foster a new sense of cohesion throughout the Hebrew speaking community.
• A major distribution outlet (Dish TV).  Compare this to the “Internet broadcasters” (like the Jewish Television Network, which also produces some shows for public television) that provide a completely different kind of viewing experience.  I have heard the argument that, with the advent of video distribution on the Internet, traditional cable and satellite broadcasting will soon be obsolete.  While could accept this as a possibility in the long term (i.e. within a decade or two), I doubt that anything will replace a “real TV experience” during the next few years.  Indeed, the introduction of high definition television (HDTV) across the United States will only serve to draw viewers into an even closer bond with their cable and satellite television providers.
• The possibility of an international Jewish TV channel.  The YNet website reported last year that the Israeli Network has begun operations in France.  If it continues to expand across multiple countries, this network will truly constitute the first global Jewish television outlet.

In Praise of the Ben Gamla School

I am assuming that, by now, most readers have already heard about the Ben Gamla Charter School, a bilingual Hebrew-English charter school located here in South Florida.  I, along with others, believe that this model offers unique and tremendous potential for altering the character of American Jewish life.

I would like to mention several factors which make this the right model at the right time.

• It follows what everybody else is doing.  Despite the atypical debate swirling around it, the bilingual charter school concept is hardly unique; many other charter schools (in South Florida, as elsewhere) train students to be fluent in a foreign language as well as in English.  Indeed, bilingual charter schools specializing in French and Spanish opened in Broward County(where Ben Gamla is located) at the same time.  For various reasons, the current debate on bilingual charter schools seems to focus on Ben Gamla and the Khalil Gibran Academy, a bilingual English-Arabic charter school in New York City.  The controversy is ostensibly regarding the potential “religious nature” of these schools.  However, this argument is never made about bilingual charter schools that teach a European language (I guess this means that religious influence or bias has never been a problem in the history of places like Germany, France, or Spain).   
• It is a rational strategy in a globalized world.  Other English-based nations (like Australia, Great Britain, and Canada) already support cultural diversity in a greater way than the U.S. does.  Indeed, the United States seems to be one of the few modern industrialized societies where an educated person is not expected to know more than one language. 
• Hebrew study is a “real world” endeavor.  It is not only a ‘valid’ secular topic of study - it is the primary language of a functioning nation-state, thus could have more practical value than learning languages like Latin or Yiddish.  I point this out since many of the critics of a Hebrew language charter school (many of them Jewish) cannot seem to comprehend that Israel exists as something more than a ”spiritual center”.
• Bilingual education rejects the ‘melting pot’ yet supports pluralism.   The “melting pot” ideology implicitly tried to enforce a single ‘meta-culture’ across society.  While some critics accuse bilingual schools of risking potential balkanization of society, these schools actually expose others to new cultures in a non-threatening way.  Both Jewish and non-Jewish students are free to attend the Ben Gamla school.  Indeed, the school has already attracted a handful of African American students, as an article in the New York Times indicated.  In contrast, other public schools inculcate cultural norms that parents may not accept.  As one parent of a Ben Gamla student noted, “‘If I were to send (my daughter) to any other public school, you better believe that come December, she’d be learning Christmas carols”.
• Charter schools are distinctly unlike other alternatives, including private schools.  Any private school must justify its cost; this encourages Jewish private schools to market themselves as “elite institutions”, comparable with their secular counterparts.  This need for demonstrating academic quality can wind up pushing tuition fees higher.  Charter schools, by contrast, are certainly public schools, with all of their strengths and weaknesses.  Even if there are similarities in their curricula, I would doubt that the experience of attending a charter school would be identical to a private school experience.  For those parents (and there still are some!) who believe in public school education, this would be a positive difference.
• Significant financial resources must come from the public sector.  The cost to seriously promote the Hebrew language in the U.S. would probably be enormous.   As Peter Deutsch (a former U.S. congressman who is a founder of the Ben Gamla movement) noted in an article in Ha’Aretz, the anticipated government funding for four Ben Gamla schools over a decade (roughly $250 million) is equivalent to the amount that all of the major Jewish foundations would spend on educational projects throughout the same period.  Thus, the charter school option is probably the only way that Hebrew language instruction could have a serious impact in the United States.
• Even a few schools could have a discernible impact.  Note that the one Ben Gamla school in Florida currently enrolls around 400 students.  This number is actually greater than the entire number of New York City public high school students who studied Hebrew as a foreign language in 2004 (330 students in the six high schools that offered Hebrew courses), according to a New York Times article.
• My personal experience affirms this model.  I am a product of public school Hebrew education.  Like many other Jews of my generation, I was first exposed to Hebrew via Sunday School classes.  However, I began gaining real Hebrew fluency via four years of language instruction in my public high school.  At the time I attended, roughly half of the high school population was Jewish, yet the Hebrew language program was the smallest foreign language program and was contually threatened with partial or complete closure.  Unfortunately, American Jewish youth do not take advantage of resources like these, even when they are made available.  Nevertheless, my own experience (and that of many peers) demonstrates the validity of emphasizing modern Hebrew as a core component in Jewish education.

Ten Reasons I Love (and Envy) the Mitsuwa Malls

Sometime back in the early nineties (1992 or 1993), I spent a day searching for work in the Chicago suburbs.  After handing out my resume at some company in Arlington Heights, I decided to look around for a place to have lunch.  For some reason that escapes me today, I decided to save time by running into a grocery store and buying lunch there.  By pure chance, I drove by a large grocery with Japanese signage in front.  I decided to give it a try, and thus discovered one of the most interesting ethnic institutions in the U.S. that I am aware of.

The Mitsuwa chain operates nine Japanese mini-malls in the U.S. (seven in California, one in Chicago, and one in New Jersey- directly across the Hudson River from Manhattan).  In New York, you can even catch a free shuttle bus from Port Authority to the Mitsuwa store across the river. 

What makes Mitsuwa stores so special?  Here are the ten things that most impress me:

• The “ethnic food court”.  From my perspective, the core of the mini-mall is its food court.  Indeed, it may be that a large number of clients come to Mitsuwa simply to eat here.  As in more traditional malls, the food court serves as the “town square” of the institution; people come to eat, mingle, people-watch, and just hang out.  When we (i.e. non-Japanese) think about eating Japanese food, we usually think in terms of individual restaurants, not food courts.  Of course, in Japan the term ‘Japanese cuisine’ would probably conjure up several different types of food, many of which are represented at the food court.  This diversity of (culinary) expression makes the mall feel more “authentically” Japanese; as their website states, “you will feel like you’re in Tokyo“.
• Unexpected offerings at the food court.  What is also interesting about the New Jersey food court is that it offers choices that we might not immediately pick up on as Japanese.  There is a “Japanese style Chinese restaurant” here, as well as a branch of a well-known Italian restaurant chain from Japan (which, I presume, offers “Japanese style Italian food”).  In other words, if we applied this concept in an Israeli mini-mall, not only would “typically Israeli” food be represented; offering a Burger Ranch outlet, and an Aroma or Arcaffe coffee shop, would broaden the food court’s range of choices while making the atmosphere seem even more authentic.
• Recognized national brands.  The mini-mall is not only Japanese in its language, but in terms of the brands it hosts.  The Fugetsudo candy store, the Shiseido cosmetics store, and the Italian Tomato restaurant are all branches of large national chains back in the mother country.  The travel agency in the mall is an affiliate of Japan’s largest travel agency. In other words, the mall exposes “culture” at several levels – not only in the forms of Japanese language and ‘traditional culture’, but also in terms of branding and ‘pop culture’ as well.
• Bilingual signage.  The stores seem to maintain a good balance of displaying signage in Japanese (which benefits their core clientele, of course), while also providing sufficient signage in English for others.
• The range of specialty stores.  I would expect book stores and video stores in an ethnic mall, but an auto supplies storeand a health food store surprised me.  The New Jersey store even contains its own dental office for those who seek care from dentists who speak their language.  Of course, every culture will have its own unique set of material items that it misses from the mother country.  (What kinds of specialty stores do you think an Israeli mini-mall would want to have?)
• The large grocery.  The ethnic grocery is not a new concept; little grocery stores and tiny restaurants dot the ethnic neighborhoods of every big city in the U.S.  What’s unique here, though, is that this seems to be a full-featured supermarket, with as many aisles as you might find in a ‘regular’ nearby grocery.  This implies that mall customers include “regulars” (who come to do everyday shopping), “tourists” (like me, who seek an exotic experience), and casual clients who occasionally frequent the store.
• Elegant layout and design.  Look at the pictures of the food court in the New Jersey store, for instance – the management clearly took the decor of the mall quite seriously.  In other words, it doesn’t feel as if the Mitsuwa stores are “trying to be like real malls”; they are simply attractive and engaging on their own terms.
• An ‘Epcot’ like sensibility.  The management certainly reaches out to non-Japanese patrons.  Special events, cooking demonstrations, and other presentations of Japanese culture are frequently offered, and advertised in both English and Japanese.  The Chicago store even provides its own e-mail distribution list to keep its customers aware of special events and deals.  The feel of being a customer lies somewhere between going to Epcot, wandering through an Ikea, and browsing an ethnic grocery store.  In other words, it is both a shopping and a learning experience, simultaneously practical and entertaining.
• Convenient hours.  These stores are open every day of the year (I guess working on holidays doesn’t bother the Japanese too much).  Of course, this “always open” schedule wouldn’t work for an Israeli mini-mall (unless we hired some Japanese staff to run it for us on Shabbat and chagim). 
• Big box form factor.  I am impressed how Mitsuwa was able to create a “mall feel” using the same type of physical space that a large Target or WalMart store might use.  In other words, this is not really a mall – it would be more properly classified as a “big box retailer” – but the experience of wandering around the mall is far more enjoyable than what you would have pushing a cart around WalMart.  I am no expert in construction, but I would assume that big box stores like these are relatively inexpensive to construct (cheaper to build than a large JCC, for example?).

Ten Reasons I Love (and Envy) the Alliance Francaise

If you read my book proposal, you know that I consider the Alliance Francaise (AF), and similar linguistic organizations, to be a model of the kinds of language centers that I would love to replicate throughout the Diaspora.  I definitely recommend that you take some time to visit their sites for inspiration:

• the international organization’s website
• the U.S. affiliate website
• the New York center’s website

To get you up to speed on what they are doing, I have selected ten interesting items from the New York center’s website.

• Language immersion programs for toddlers, including special classes for “bilingual toddlers” (presumably those kids being raised in a home where French is spoken by at least one parent).  As a parent who is working very hard, almost every evening, to teach his toddler Hebrew, I can only wonder why the Jewish community doesn’t try this.  We talk so much about the critical need for Jewish education; why not start language learning when it can have the greatest impact?
• Likewise, the New York center’s French library (“the leading private French library in the U.S.”) contains its own children’s library, described as “a library within a library… a special place for kids and parents… where you will find lots of great books to read in French”.
• An extremely wide range of instructional levels, including specialized language classes at the advanced levels.  “We offer over 200 French language & culture courses at all levels on a range of subjects.”  (Could you even dream of an ulpan in New York, one of the world’s most Jewish cities, containing a course catalog with 200 course offerings?)
• Creative, active learning opportunities that take place outside of a classroom.  These “language immersion experiences” range from Yoga in French to a bi-monthly French Happy Hour.  You don’t necessarily need to be completely fluent in order to participate; the Happy Hour page states that the program offers ”a fun, welcoming environment to socialize in French for all levels of experience”.
• English for Francophones: the AF certainly serves as a “two way bridge”, not only helping English speakers master French but also assisting those French who seek to master English.  I am guessing that both groups of students are encouraged to mingle (in French, of course!).
• Formal links to study abroad opportunities: an almost seamless connection between the programs in the “diaspora” and those back in the mother country.  For comparison, imagine participating in an ulpan program in New York, and then transferring to an ulpan-based vacation in Jerusalem – with your transcripts following you as you went, so that all of your learning experiences could be integrated into a single, uninterrupted course of study!  Frankly, I’m not sure that the AF programs are this well integrated, but I can definitely see a strategy here.
• The Linguality French Book Club: this library program helps you read current popular books (i.e. popular in France) with special annotation, instead of translation.  “With just a basic grasp of French, you can enjoy wonderful contemporary literature and raise your culture quotient several notches…  As a bonus, each of our titles comes with a FREE audio CD containing a fascinating 35- to 45-minute conversation in French with the author, with a full transcript included.”  Actually, I think that the Jewish Agency, to its credit, did publish an “Easy Hebrew Library” of contemporary Israeli literature; I think that it was discontinued in the mid-70s.  On another “related tangent”: here is a link to a wonderful publisher (hopefully, still in business) that produces Hebrew-English children’s books.
• Multiple levels of AF membership, tailored to suit individual budgets and needs.  An aggressive corporate sponsorship program is also maintained.
• Member discounts that provide significant savings on French-related products and services.  I can imagine that this could tie in nicely with corporate sponsorship programs.  (Along these lines, do you think that El Al would offer a special “ulpanenrollee” rate to fly to Israel?)
• The AF facilities in New York are incredibly chic, almost reason enough to make a visit even if you don’t know (and don’t even want to learn) a word of French.  As the AF site states, they are ”housed in a beautiful Beaux Arts building reminiscent of the architecture of Haussmann Paris”.

UPDATE (Dec. 25): If you enjoy thinking about the intersection of francophone culture and Zionist identity, then you might want to take a look at this interesting blog that I recently discovered.  (Personal confession: when I first saw the title of this blog, I thought it would be for fans addicted to the old Friends television series.)