oints of view >> Send letters to: letters@thejewishnews.corn Commentary Editorial War Lessons For Schoolkids W ith the new school year nearly upon us, Jewish educational leaders are scrambling to prepare their teach- ers to discuss this summer's Gaza War. The most pressing challenge is to design age-appropriate conversations: At which grade level might class- room discussions include potentially frightening topics, such as the wounding of non-combatants, kidnapping of young Israelis and sirens warning of incoming rockets? And how should teachers address the tough issues of civilian casualties in Gaza and the flagrant hostility toward Jews and Israel that has erupted in many parts of the world? These questions are difficult enough, but are especially freighted with anxiety because they hold the potential to revive stereotypes of Israel that North American Jewish schools have been trying to counter. When Israel was forced to wage three major wars during its first quarter century, its image as an embattled enclave overshadowed everything else about its existence. In recent decades, though, Jewish schools have endeavored to present a more rounded picture of Israeli life. Without deny- ing the existential challenges facing the Jewish state, teachers have drawn attention to the rich tapestry of Israeli culture — its diverse inhabitants, culinary treats and eclectic music, for example — and, of course, its techno- logical wizardry. School trips to Israel have highlight- ed the country's natural beauty and its enjoyable recreational scene, even while exploring the strong connec- tions between the land and the Jewish religion. Educators are understandably loath to resurrect the earlier imagery that simplis- tically portrayed Israel as a country permanently on war footing. Responses to the Gaza war require North American Jewish schools to address a second topic that had been pushed to the background in recent years — anti-Semitism. Students in all likelihood are not oblivious of the virulent hostility to Israel and Jews surfac- ing in the media and on the Web. It's not clear how prepared schools are to address this issue. In reaction to the overemphasis on the Holocaust from the 1960s through the 1980s, the pendu- lum of American Jewish fashion has swung away from discourse about anti-Semitism. Now, with the blatantly negative media coverage of Israel's prosecution of the war and the resurgence of anti- Semitism around the globe, the subject warrants considerably more attention. The dilemma facing schools in addressing the new anti-Semitism is how to avoid reviving what historian Salo Baron once described as "the lach- rymose [tearful] conception of Jewish history:' The saga of the Jews is about a great deal more than persecution. Yet with the barely concealed animosity toward Jews evident in some quarters here in America and abroad, alas, the need to teach young people about the insidious nature of 54 August 28 • 2014 JPi Don't Recoil Amid Anti-Israel Rants I A class at the Lippman School, a Jewish day school in Akron, Ohio, August 2013. anti-Semitism has become pertinent again. As they formulate a school response to the war, educators might consider three important lessons derived from "Hearts and Minds:' a recent report on Israel education in North American Jewish schools: First, one size does not fit all students. Classrooms this September will contain some students who are largely ignorant about the Gaza war and others who have been exposed to it up close. Students who spent part of the summer in Israel undoubtedly will attest to what it was like to run to bomb shelters or sense the fear aroused in Israel's populace by Hamas tunnels. Teachers will face the daunt- ing task of bridging differences in what students heard from their parents and absorbed elsewhere about the war. Second, when teaching about Israel, it is imperative to work with students' minds as well as their hearts. Jewish schools have focused their attention especially on the latter, an understand- able approach with younger children. But by their middle school and high school years, students deserve to be exposed not only to the joyous dimensions of the Jewish state, but also to the complexities within Israeli society and outside of it in the tough neighborhood of the Middle East. And third, teaching about other Jewish com- munities — their achievements and challenges — does not detract from a connection to Israel but strengthens the ties of students to the Jewish people and also Israel. In some parts of the world, notably in several European countries, Jewish communities are under siege. American Jewish students should not be shielded from these ugly realities. This is the time to teach students about the interconnectedness of all Jews, a lesson that will also strengthen their engagement with Israel and its people. The Gaza war presents Jewish schools with a teachable moment, a time to explore with their students (in an age-appropriate manner) the asymmetrical struggle in which Israel is engaged and the surge in hatred confronting Jews — including children — in many parts of the world. ❑ Jack Wertheimer is a professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary. nvoking the biblical teaching of "an eye for an eye," a South Africa union leader posted on Facebook an egregious exam- ple of the building global forces of anti-Israel hatred. Not unlike others who twist Scriptures to their liking, Tony Ehrenreich found justification for seeking "wrath," in the A 1111 form of revenge attacks, against South Africa's Jewish communal leaders whenever "a woman or child is killed in Gaza." He further accused the Israel Defense Forces of "attempts to steal the Palestinian lands," a familiar refrain of Hamas, the Gaza Strip-ruling terrorist organization whose char- ter calls for Israel's destruction. Tony The South Africa Jewish Board of Deputies Ehrenreich should suffer for supporting Israel, Ehrenreich declared in an Aug. 13 Facebook post. In his bizarre view, the Jewish Board of Deputies is complicit "in the murder of the people in Gaza" – and "supporting crimes against humanity in Gaza:' His cyber-canard is too threat-laden to ignore. Just last week, Heidi Budaj, director of the Anti-Defamation League- Michigan Region, warned Jewish News readers about the dark- ening clouds of Jew-hatred settling over increasing parts of the world ("Rising Global Anti-Semitism," Aug. 21, page 51.) It was earlier this year that Metro Detroit's Woodward Avenue Shul sent a delegation to South Africa for two weeks to experience the resurgent African nation and its buoyant Jewish commu- nity. Nowadays, anyone who intimates revenge against Jews should be taken at their word. Too many times, Jews have hoped for brighter skies only to fall victim thanks to haters dis- covering the right inspiration to act on their impulses. Be Wary Ehrenreich, provincial secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions, railed in favor of retribution against Israel for the "killings and maimings" that have taken place in Gaza. He claims he's not anti-Semitic, wasn't speaking on behalf of his union and isn't calling for violence against Jews. He sug- gests a protest against the Jewish Board of Deputies, which, he maintains, has condoned violence against the Palestinians by its support for the Israeli military. He conveniently has ignored that Hamas precipitated the war via relentless missile attacks on Israel. Ehrenreich is only a branch leader within the union, but it is South Africa's largest trade union organization. That gives him a ready platform to roust Israel hatred. Gathering Winds The week before his Facebook rant, Ehrenreich warned the Jewish Board of Deputies to halt its "Zionist propaganda" in Cape Town or be dealt a campaign of strikes and boycotts against its members as well as supporting companies and organizations. It's unlikely he commands the cache to pull that threat off. He serves on the Cape Town City Council, but was soundly defeated in Cape Town's 2011 mayoral race, relegating his influence. Still, his tirades, hollow or not, wisely stirred the Jewish Board of Deputies. The board accused him of hate speech and incitement to violence against the leadership of South Africa's organized Jewish community. Timing matters. And Ehrenreich's vitriol comes amid global volatility over the Israel-Hamas war. He deliberately sought to inflame already tense times. ❑