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Israeli Spirit
Akiva's Yom HaAtzmaut program brings Israel alive for students.
Keri Guten Cohen
Story Development Editor
he annual Yom HaAtzmaut (Israel
Independence Day) celebration
May 10 at Akiva Hebrew Day
School in Southfield involved the entire
student body. The elaborate decorations
alone must have taken weeks.
As guests walked the halls on their way
to eat traditional Israeli fare in the caf-
eteria, they passed walls transformed by
murals into slices of Israel. One double-
layered mural offered glimpses of the sea
as seen in Eilat; another touted the Israeli
Air Force; still another depicted the mod-
em metropolis of Tel Aviv.
All were stops along a figurative trip
through Israel. Students were given "pass-
ports" with their school photos attached
and had the passports stamped as they
traveled around the school visiting differ-
ent stations.
"As an important component of the
Akiva experience, we view our connection
with Israel as an integral part of our pro-
gram," said Sidney Katz, executive director.
"In place of actually taking our students
to Israel, we do the next best thing: We
bring the flavor of Israel to Akiva."
Each year, Akiva brings in two 18-year-
old Israeli women who are performing
Sheirut Le'umi, or national service, instead
of going into the military. They provide a
taste of Israel at every school event and also
provide tutoring services within the school,
informal education about Israel and work
with the Bnei Akiva youth group.
A highlight of the Yom HaAtzmaut
program, which celebrated Israel's 63rd
anniversary, was a concert by the New
York-based band, Soul.Farm, which got
everyone rocking, including a sea of
Israeli flags waving to the beat. 7
Students pose with Shmuel Danan, one of two Israeli Bachurei Bnei Akiva (young men giving a year of service in the diaspora
after the military) who work at the school. He will be going back to Israel at the end of the school year.
Akiva kids dance and wave Israeli flags to the music of
SoulFarm, a New York-based band that performed at Akiva.
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Above: Tenth-graders Naomi Foxen-Craft of West Bloomfield and Rivka Steinberg of
Southfield with Israeli Zahava Seliger, 18, who works with Akiva students.
Right: Personalized Israeli "passports" were stamped as students made their way
around the school decorated as a trip around Israel.
18 m ay
19 2011
Akiva fifth-grader Eliezer Benjamin of Southfield welcomed
students to Jerusalem and stamped their passports.
Above: Akiva seventh-graders Noah Adler and Alter Klausner, both of Southfield,
distribute Israeli "passports" prepared with a picture of each student.
Right: One hall mural celebrates the Israeli Air Force.