our stories: israel engagement

Learning Through Israel Engagement

The day our third graders received a special delivery, the first thing they noticed was the Hebrew writing on the box. Inside, they found 45 albums from the third graders at our sister school in Yokneam, Israel. Through photos, words and illustrations, we learned about the children of Tidhar School.

In pairs, our students read about Itay, who loves soccer; Dor, who has a dog named Clifford; and Shai, who likes to sing and ride horses. They learned that some of the third graders at Tidhar School have parents from Ethiopia...some from South Africa...some were born in Israel. They learned that some have parents in the army.

A recent study shows an alarming distancing from Israel by American Jews. That distancing is most pronounced among younger Jews — the same population that is experiencing a commensurate drop in feelings of collective Jewish identity and Jewish peoplehood.

Not so at RJA! Our students know that Israel is their home, and a home for all Jews. They know that it is both the ancient land of the Bible and a modern land where scientists are making breakthroughs in technology, medicine and science. Our students know that Israel is filled with kids like them, who read Harry Potter in Hebrew, who love popsicles on a summer day, who live by the Jewish calendar. They know that it's the home of their “big sisters” — our shlichot who visit our school each Friday to bring Israel into our classrooms. And now they are pen pals with a few dozen kids whose grandparents chose Israel when theirs chose America.

I hope that someday, each of our students will have a travel journal filled with stories about their own Israel adventure, of the interesting people they met there, and of the meaningful connections they have made in Eretz Yisrael.