As the war in Israel continued on, JLA staff needed to find something else for their high schoolers while they postponed the Israel trip. They decided on having the first three Fridays as special days.
The second Friday, which is the focus for this article, was a Zionist Seminar. To begin, high school students gathered at the Beit Midrash to take an assessment, testing their knowledge of Israel’s history and what is going on in the modern day. Students were then split up into two groups depending on their score. The group 59% and under met up with Danielle Pinto, the high school regional manager of Florida for Stand with Us, an education organization that “empowers and energizes students and communities with leadership training and educational programs on hundreds of college campuses, high schools, and middle schools.”
“It was very impactful. We talked about the history of Israel becoming a state and the upbringing of the terrorist group Hamas. It was so sad,” 9th grader Abby Warshofsky describes her experience.
Student’s scoring 60% and above met up with the founder and executive director of Club Z, Masha Merkulova. Club Z is an organization dedicated to creating “a network of educated and articulate activists with a commitment to Zionism who advocate for themselves, Israel and the Jewish people.” Masha spoke to the students about the Romans and how Israel was created in the first place with the United Nations.
Students also learnt how to stand up for themselves in the face of anti-Semitism. Students then gathered back together to go to their second seminar about the United States’s relationship with Israel. This seminar was led by Mark Kleinman, the Southeast Regional Director of Aipac, an organization that wants to “strengthen and expand the U.S.-Israel relationship.” Mark talked to students about how crucial it is to have a good relationship between the two countries. Ayla Banin, a 9th grade student recounts her experience: “The seminar was very interesting, and taught me a lot.”
Students then broke for lunch, while they waited for their parents to arrive for the second half. After lunch, students and parents returned to the Beit Midrash to listen Shabbos Kestenbaum, one of the prosecutors in the lawsuit against Harvard for the anti-Semitism on its campus. Shabbos shared his experience with anti-Semitism and allowed many students to ask questions. “I think that Shabbos is a really intelligent guy and is very good at public speaking and [he is] also is extremely brave. I really liked how it was engaging to the students and I gained a new insight.” 9th grade Sophie Corch said.
Finally, students arrived at a panel about Israel’s internal challenges. Noam Weissman, vice president of OpenDor Media, and he was the mediator for the panel. The two participants who joined us were Avi Bell and Daniel Flesch. Daniel Flesch is the Founder of The Israel Educator. ”The Israel Educator is an educational, informative, and engaging program for audiences interested in learning more about the history, ideas and current issues facing Israel, Zionism and the Jewish people, and their importance to Western civilization.” Avi Bell works “as a Senior Fellow at the Kohelet Policy Forum. His fields of academic research include property and intellectual property law, international law, land use law, the laws of war, and the Arab-Israeli conflict.” The panel talked about bringing the hostages, the judicial process in Israel, and other dividing Israel issues. “I thought the conversation was incredibly thought provoking and informative. The whole day was an overall success.” 10th grade Aviva Zippin remembers. Students left school at the end of the day with new and empowering knowledge.
