Klugerman says that "Aldva's mis-
sion demands not just educating about
Israel, but connecting to Israel" In
teaching history, he has the luxury of
starting with "the assumption that each
student has a desire to be connected to
the Land"
Students at Akiva also know young
Israelis doing national service on staff
at the school, role models who grew up
in Israel and plan to return there. Akiva
has a continual supply of assemblies,
speakers, bulletin boards and programs
that highlight current events in Israel.
With the school's encouragement,
some 80 percent of students continue
their studies in Israel after graduation.
And Klugerman proudly points out evi-
dence that this program works: the huge
cohort of Akiva graduates now living in
Israel.
The Frankel Jewish Academy spon-
sors a similar mix of experiential pro-
grams connecting students with Israel
and history classes evaluating what we
know about Israel. Seniors at FJA take
a required course in the History of the
Arab-Israeli Conflict. Dr. Ezra Davidson,
who teaches the course, observes that
"they have a genuine desire to under-
stand what is going on and to make
sense of it"
Davidson accepts
that teens tend to see
history in black-and-
white terms, and uses
his class to encourage
students to explore
what makes the histo-
ry of the Middle East
so complicated. By
Dr. Ezra
engaging
with a broad
Davidson
range of Israeli and
Palestinian perspec-
tives from the pre-state period through
today, Davidson says, students learn
that each side tells a narrative about the
past that informs the present.
"Of course, this is a Zionist school,
and we hope our students will be
Zionists" Davidson says. "But we want
them to be thinking, critical Zionists:'
A local Zionist activist, Dr. Charles
Greenberg of Bloomfield Township,
remembers that when he was young, he
was taught in the "no question" style.
"We identified with Israel, no ques-
tion about it" he said.
Ready or not, students in many pro-
grams will hear the opinions of Israel's
opponents. Stephanie Hoffman of the
David Project said, "We have a prin-
ciple: 'No surprises: We do not want our
students, after going through our cur-
riculum, to be surprised by what they
hear from those who do not support
Israel."
Akiva:s Klugerman calls that "making
sure that our students do not get 'blind-
sided:"

Hoffman continues: "These issues do
not have to have simple answers. If they
had simple answers, there would be no
conflicts. Our students should be able to
have an in-depth, advanced conversa-
tion. They should recognize that issues
are not one-sided. We have to be com-
pletely honest about everything, and we
believe that will still result in the conclu-
sion that Israel's existence is just"

Israel And Torah
A former Detroiter now living in Israel,
educator Rabbi Reuven Spolter sum-
marizes: "If a Jewish student approaches
Israel as an 'insider' — citizen or not
— but a committed, dedicated member
of the Jewish people, then all issues are
fair game. But if the approach comes as
an American — who challenges Israel
not from within, but as an 'objective'
observer — then I think we have failed
as Jewish educators.
"How does one convey a sense of
identity, belonging and affiliation with-
out a firm rooting in Torah? That, I can-
not help you with"
Bais Yaacov sees its Israel education
almost exclusively through its firm
rooting in Torah. Rabbi Zev Poss, the
girls school director, describes the role
of Israel in the school's curriculum as
not part of any specific class. It is every-
where. The walls of the school are filled
with student projects of photos, maps
and news clippings about Israel.
As another Beth Jacob administra-
tor explained: Israel is inseparably part
of the curriculum, interwoven into
the curriculum as Israel is interwoven
into the Torah, from the first com-
ment by Rashi on the Torah (in which
Rashi shows how the story of Creation
validates Jewish claims to the land of
Israel), to the book of Joshua (in which
Jewish ancestors conquer the land) and
other Biblical passages.
The curriculum also addresses mod-
ern-day Israel, stressing Israel's need
for prayers, given current conditions
in Israel, the dangers faced by the land
and its people, and by the soldiers who
protect them. The idea is that although
Israel is geographically far away, its
people are brothers and sisters to all
Jews.
Poss notes that all Bais Yaacov history
teachers, themselves observant Jews,
naturally incorporate the centrality of
Israel in teaching each period of Jewish
history. Most impressively, the students
demonstrate their commitment to Israel
by studying there. Poss notes that fully
90 percent of the graduates of Bais
Yaakov go on to spend at least a year in
seminary in Israel.

❑

Corey Rosen of Farmington Hills,
pictured on page 1, is still doing Israel
advocacy. See a report by him on page 8.

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