The role of Israel in the identity of North American Jews is of concern and interest to community leaders, philosophers of Jewish education, and most important, practitioners in the field. Although there is an awareness of the need to help emerging Jewish educators grapple with the complex questions surrounding Israel engagement, little research exists about how connections to Israel are formed and how novice educators translate them into practice. This dissertation explores the evolving attitudes of young Jewish educators regarding Israel and Israel education. It looks closely at four graduate students of education, all of whom took part in a three-week seminar in Israel, a mandatory aspect of their graduate studies in Jewish Education at the Davidson School of the Jewish Theological Seminary. Using a mixed methodology, a case study of each participant is presented. Over the five years of the study, participants filled out written questionnaires, participated in semi-structured interviews, and drew concept maps. Findings from these four participants were compared with findings from their entire cohort (37 students) as well as five subsequent cohorts (approximately 100 students). The study produced a number of key conclusions: Israel orientation is influenced by many factors and is extremely dynamic; a pronounced yearning for community and collective is part of the evolving approach of young educators; Hebrew language plays a positive and central role in connection to Israel; and while the pre-service seminar in Israel did not fulfill the participants' expectations about Israel education, which were different from those of the program designers, it did contribute significantly to the participants' personal growth and attitudes. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]