Israel activism off and running at Shalhevet

Midreshet Shalhevet’s Committee for Israel Activism (CIA), led by Mr. Simcha Bader and club heads Rachel Fishbein and Zahava Fertig, has already had multiple meetings to discuss Israel news and plan Israel programming and presentations.

The club has started a new initiative after Tefila, updating the students on Israeli current events and world-wide news regarding Jews and the State of Israel. “It’s really important that we all know what is happening in Israel news, because even though we live here in America, we need to know what is happening to our brothers and sisters in Israel,” said Avigail Borah of Hewlett.

As a proud Zionist school with a strong emphasis on Israel education, Midreshet Shalhevet, in North Woodmere, takes great pride in its connection and close ties with StandWithUs. Once a month Paul Friedman, Tri-State Area High School Program Director of StandWithUs, partners with Shalhevet, providing presentations and speakers to educate the students on matters relating to Israel. The main goal of the programs is to empower the girls with facts about Israel, teach them how to combat anti-Semitism, and the BDS movement plaguing colleges.

Last week, the CIA club met with Mr. Friedman to learn and discuss the differences between anti-Semitism and legitimate criticism. Defining anti-Semitism as demonization, delegitimization, and double standards, the girls participated in the conversation by asking and answering questions to further understand what anti-Semitism means and why it exists. 

They discussed that although Israel has room for improvement, that does not mean that it doesn’t have the right to exist.

Imparting the message “speaking up is the only thing that will make a difference,” Mr. Friedman explained the importance of being a part of the dialogue to teach the truth and facts about the only democratic country in the Middle East, our beloved Israel.