Leon Levy
Return to status quo after promising effort

June 10, 2002

Over the past two years of the resurgence of the Intifada in Israel, the school community and its administration has grappled with how to deal with the issues brought up by this new wave of violence and how to present the situation in Israel to its impressionable youth.

During the first couple months of the restart of the “uprising”, the school’s lack of discussion about the situation implied that the administration and faculty were having serious problems presenting the dilemma to its students.

For the most part, both parents and students were understanding of the schools reluctance to discuss the issue openly.

Yet as the Intifada intensified and the situation in Israel became more and more dire, the administration and faculty have outgrown their preliminary shyness and have become, however tragic it may sound, accustomed to the daily terror attacks and explaining them best to the student contingent.

The best example of the school’s assertiveness in Jewish community issues is its busing of over 600 students to the nation’s capital to partake in the Israel solidarity rally on April 15.

Yet despite the school’s acceptance of its leadership role in the community and its valiant efforts to make the situation facing Eretz Yisrael clearer and more understandable to the students during April, the past two months have seen an almost complete halt of programs and events organized by the administration and/or faculty concerning the state of affairs in Israel.

The only two measures that have taken place recently regarding the Intifada have been the posting of newspaper clippings on a message board and an eleventh grade, student-led discussion.

We see through these actions that the student body is yearning for more attention to be placed on this topic.

The lack of recent administration involvement begs the question “Is the school still upholding its mission statement and its commitment to the surrounding Jewish community?”

The mission statement of Ahavat Yisrael, “to form an inextricable bond with the Jewish people—past, present, and future—to foster a sense of commitment to the State of Israel …” demands the school not only discuss the Intifada in classrooms, but also to address it in large events such as assemblies.

The question of whether or not the Palestinians have the justifications for sending suicide bombers into the midst of densely populated Jewish areas or if the Israeli Defense Force has the right to evict Palestinian families from their homes during the incursions into Palestinian settlements is a complex one; it cannot be answered with a simple yes or no.

The Intifada forces JDS students to look at the situation in Israel with a critical eye; not to simply say “Palestinians are terrorists, and therefore whatever actions the Israeli government takes against Palestinians are appropriate.”

Ironic as it may be, students are learning more about Israel and their own Judaism through this new wave of terror. The lack of involvement by the administration in the final two months of the school year concerning the problems in Israel is incredibly troublesome.

It hinders the students’ exposure to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which in turns limits their potential of “fostering a sense of commitment to the State of Israel,” a consequence which would be even more tragic and devastating than the physical violence brought about by the Intifada itself.