MAY 4 • 2023 | 37

core Jewish values come to life through our 
strong arts program,” said Dr. Darin Katz, 
Head of School at Hillel Day School.
When looking at the mural (from left to 
right), viewers will see Theodor Herzl: the 
Father of Modern Zionism, the visionary 
for the Jewish State and the organizer of the 
Zionist Congresses. 
In the middle is a landscape of the city of 
Jerusalem — including the Old City’s Jaffa 
Gate, traditional Jerusalem stylized build-
ings, Montefiore’s Windmill and the sun 
rising over the city. The artist intentionally 
depicted a sunrise, symbolizing a new day, 
and shows Jaffa Gate illuminated as a bright 

white focal point inviting viewers toward the 
east. 
Lastly, a chalutzah, or female pioneer, of 
the State of Israel is depicted. The chalutzim 
(pioneers) were Jews living in pre-state and 
early state Israel responsible for creating 
the first Jewish settlements. This specific 
chalutzah is based on a real and unnamed 
individual who was one of the founding 
members of the Women’s International 
Zionist Organization (WIZO). Though this 
chalutzah was unnamed in her original pho-
tograph, her legacy will live on the walls of 
Hillel Day School for an eternity.
“The mural shows how beautiful Israel 
is, and how it wasn’t always like that,” said 
fourth-grader Lainey Maddin of Huntington 
Woods. 
“I think the piece is really cool,” added 
fifth-grader Sadie Rosen of West Bloomfield, 
“and how he used only two colors making it 
look so real is unique.”
Souza, internationally known for his large, 
creative, and colorful murals, laid out the 
mural with a commercial paint roller instead 
of a pencil or spray paint. This is one of his 
preferred methods of painting murals and 
acts as a safety precaution to keep the stu-

dents and school free from the fumes that 
come along with spray paint, the more tradi-
tional method of painting murals. 
He worked with hues of dark blues to light 
blues going from shades to highlights. The 
artist accented the mural with bright yellow 
and gold hues, giving the piece its glow, in 
spray paint once students left school for the 
day. 
While working, Souza mentioned that he 
depicted Herzl, the German Jewish master-
mind of Zionism, in darker shades of blues 
than the chalutzah because Herzl never got to 
see his vision for the state of Israel come to 
light. The chalutzah, painted in lighter blues, 
worked very hard and had the privilege to 
tend to land and see the dream of a Jewish 
state become a reality. 
“The mural makes me feel proud that 
women helped create Israel,” said third grad-
er Jessa Linden of Bloomfield Hills. 
The mural and Souza’s visit to Michigan 
were the result of a collaborative effort by the 
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, 
the Jewish Community Center’s Janice 
Charach Gallery, and APAPA, the Asian 
Pacific Islander American Public Affairs 
Association, in an effort to celebrate Israel’s 

75th birthday celebration and the arts. 
Hillel Day School’s K-8 Visual Art 
Educator Lauren Cohen organized the 
school’s participation with Yiftah Leket, 
community shaliach (Israeli emissary), to 
bring Souza’s talent to the school. Cohen, 
along with the school’s leadership team, 
found a prominent location for the mural 
and created a vision for the subject of the 
work. 
“We were intentional about our vision 
for the content of the mural. We wanted it 
to reflect our core Jewish value of Zionism 
and our ardent belief in and support of 
the Modern State of Israel,” said Amira 
Soleimani, director of Judaic Studies curricu-
lum and instruction at Hillel Day School. 
“I think this mural brings together the 
community, and it shows how our school 
strongly believes in Judaism and has good 
values of bravery, leadership and Zionism,” 
said sixth-grader Lihi Maine of West 
Bloomfield.
Many meaningful works of Souza’s can be 
seen on display through May 10 at the Janice 
Charach Gallery’s exhibit, Art of Israel Today. 

Hillel art teacher Lauren Cohen contributed to this story.

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