GAJE was formed for the sole purpose of trying to help make Jewish day school education more affordable for the majority of young Jewish families in Ontario.
Though not the only way of fostering comprehensive Jewish literacy, life-long identity, and permanent connection to the Jewish people, Jewish day school education is indeed considered the best way.
In the wake of the ugly – and shocking – ascendance of anti-Jewish-anti-Israel hatred after October 7, 2023, day school education has proven its worth in other important ways as well. Day school graduates have demonstrated a strong, self-identifying sense of self that enables them to stand their ground, literally and metaphorically, against the purveyors of hate and abuse. As we have seen and read and heard these past 13 months, some of those purveyors have been intimidating and threatening.
Melissa Rivkin, the director of day school strategy at the Seattle-based Samis Foundation, has written an op-ed/case study that highlights the strength and courage of one day school graduate in particular, Hannah Nash, who stood tall and strong in a difficult situation recently at the University of Washington. Entitled, Jewish day schools: Building leaders, not just students, the Rivlin article appeared last week on eJP’s web site. The purpose of the op-ed is clear from its very title.
Rivlin writes that a strong Jewish day school education provides youngsters with a foundation that gives them the wherewithal – knowledge, identity, and confidence – in the future, to take up the task of defending civil western society.
Rivlin sets the scene of Hannah’s “defining moment”.
“No one could have predicted that Jewish students like Hannah would one day face intense antisemitism on college campuses. As a student at the University of Washington, Hannah experienced firsthand the surge of hostility toward Jews and Israelis especially, following the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7. Campus protests calling for the destruction of Israel, antisemitic graffiti and blood libel against Israel as a country and Jews as a people made her feel unsafe. But she drew on her Jewish day school foundation to give her the strength to speak up when it mattered most.”
The meeting where Hannah spoke became a flashpoint after a year of rising antisemitism on the University of Washington campus. What should have been an orderly public comment period quickly descended into chaos. As Hannah and other Jewish community members..attempted to speak, they were shouted down by protestors. The disruption was so extreme that the regents were forced to shut down the meeting entirely, and protestors took over the room. In the midst of an intimidating uproar, Hannah, who was the only student who was there to testify, stood her ground, displaying uncommon calm and courage in a challenging moment.”
“…Hannah’s presence at that meeting wasn’t just a personal victory—it was part of a larger story that became a rallying point for the entire Jewish community in Greater Seattle. …What started as a chaotic, disruptive meeting turned into a powerful, unified response that no one could ignore. Hannah’s courage in stepping forward to testify made it impossible for university leadership to ignore or deny the reality of Jewish student experiences. Her calm and strength in the face of intense provocation exemplifies the kind of Jewish leadership we have seen demonstrated by Jewish day school students nationwide in this moment.”
Hannah’s story is the jumping off point for Rivlin’s praise for day schools. Obviously, not all day school graduates show the pluck and determination that Hannah did. Individual character and nature play a determinative role in deciding when – if at all – to move away from the shoreline, into the deeper waters of the battle to defend Jews and Israel and to preserve western values and western society. Rivlin’s point however, is that in the best of instances, day school education provides the substantive wherewithal for willing individuals to swim confidently in that deep end where the turbulent waters are rising.
The Rivlin article is available at:
•••
If you wish to contribute to GAJE’s lawsuit for fairness in educational funding, please click here.
For further information, please contact Israel Mida at: imida1818@gmail.com
Charitable receipts for donations for income tax purposes will be issued by Mizrachi Canada. Your donations will be used for the sole purpose of underwriting the costs of the lawsuit.
•••
Shabbat shalom. Am Yisrael Chai
Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education (GAJE)
November 22, 2024
Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education 