There's an old joke about our friends across the Atlantic that when they sunbathe in the south of France or sightsee in Rome, they don't need to learn the language - just shout a bit louder. If you keep raising your voice, you'll be understood perfectly.
We Brits might smirk when it comes to American tourists, but many of us praise the American way when it comes to Israel.
The Americans shout louder when it comes to their love for Israel and their pride in being Jewish. Anyone who's ever visited the tourist shops in Tel Aviv will have seen the T-shirts proudly boasting "Israel, don't worry, America is behind you". It's unimaginable that there would be an "Israel, don't worry, Britain is behind you" version.
The Americans might be louder, but does that actually mean they are prouder? Support for Israel is higher among British Jews than Americans. Whereas 82 per cent of British Jews said that Israel was central or important to their Jewish identity in last year's Jewish Policy Research survey, 68 per cent of American Jews felt attached to Israel when they were last asked, in 2007.
So if our loyalty is stronger, it's simply our methods that are different. And different does not mean worse.
There were more than a few raised British eyebrows
Some British activists and leaders might bemoan how Anglo-Jewry is less bombastic about its Zionism, but our kind of hasbara feels more thoughtful, less forced. It's less bellowing, more "a quiet word in your ear, sir."
Nowhere was this more apparent than at last week's March of the Living in Poland. I accompanied the British delegation. While first researching MOTL and learning about the American delegations that attend, some aspects had made me uneasy. The majority of American groups take impressionable high school students, some visit many more concentration camps and many continue on to Israel, often their first visit to the country, for Yom Ha'atzmaut. This is an emotional rollercoaster for high school teens, which appears to present a direct, simplistic narrative. Holocaust equals the state of Israel.
My fears were unfounded. The British delegation, especially organiser Scott Saunders and the UJS leaders, deserve credit for organising a tactful and thoughtful programme. Most of the participants were students, many with knowledge and experience of Jewish life and history. The trip was grounded in a rigorous educational programme. Visiting Poland and the sites where so many were murdered was emotional and intense, but geared towards achieving something more than teenagers sobbing. It was a deliberate decision not to take the group to Israel; UJS did not want to be seen to be promoting an agenda or a narrative.
It reminded me of a similar experience on Birthright. Throughout my trip, where most participants were in their mid-twenties, we were encouraged to ask searching questions of our Israeli hosts. We visited an Arab town, split by the green line.
I believed our rounded experience was usual. But on our last day, we joined thousands of other groups from all over the world, overwhelmingly from the US, at the Birthright "Mega Event". The noise of shrieking American teenagers was deafening. Everyone had Israeli flags pressed into their hands and was urged to learn a tacky version of the South African World Cup song Waving Flag.
The event prompted wild delirium from the US participants, but more than a few raised eyebrows from the Brits. Some smiled and sang along, keeping their distance from the melee. But others in the group pointed out that they'd never be this wildly patriotic about the country of their birth, never mind one they'd been in for just over a week, for the first time.
British Jews are castigated for being too cautious, and we're told to turn up the volume of our hasbara, but wild displays of patriotism just aren't us (unless there's a royal couple involved).
And if it's a choice between understanding the bigger picture or ramping up the shouting and the outrage, I'll take the tactful, quieter, more thoughtful approach any day.
