The second day of the KKL-JNF World Education Conference opened with professional workshops on topics pertinent to all those engaged in Jewish education in the 21st century: educational entrepreneurship, the startup community in Israel, between tradition and activism, and debate. The teachers talked, listened and conferred as they studied and pondered all these subjects together.
“Helping young people to maintain contact with Israel and their Jewish roots is a
significant challenge,” said
Fortuna Capuano of Mexico City. “It’s very important that we teachers visit Israel and afterwards convey our experiences to our students.”
Tali Barhai is an Israeli who has been living for thirty years now in Miami, Florida, where she is a kindergarten teacher. “I want to bring the scents, sights and experiences of Israel to the children,” she said. “In the US I live beside the sea, but here in Israel the sea has a different smell, perhaps just because it’s ours. When we meet teachers from different places we learn a lot from them and realize that we don’t have to cope alone.”
Another workshop, which focused on vision and leadership, raised social, moral and political dilemmas. With the help of interactive techniques, the participants contemplated the predicaments of past and present leaders, and concluded by constructing their own personal visions and formulating courses of action to realize them.
Strengthening students’ links with Israel, increasing tolerance between different groups and helping young Jews to be proud of their heritage were among the personal visions proposed by those taking part. At the close of the session they selected public figures whom they considered to have possessed vision, from David Ben Gurion to Abraham Lincoln.
Semy Amar, who teaches in Casablanca, told her colleagues that in Morocco, Jewish and Muslim children attend kindergarten together. “Relations between the children are excellent and they are all good friends,” she explained. “When I talk to them about Israel, they all listen and take an interest. This is the first time I’ve attended a seminar in Israel, and I’m acquiring a great deal of knowledge, and some useful tools as well.”
Brazilian
Rudi Solon, who coordinates São Paulo’s Jewish youth movements, said: “We’re always on the lookout for new ways to convey Zionist messages and make them relevant to the youngsters. This conference gives us educational tools to help strengthen the young generation’s connection to Israel.”
Later in the day the participants set out in the footsteps of the Kabbalists to explore the alleyways of the Old City of
Tzfat. Tzfat is considered to be the capital of the
Galilee region, and it is one of Israel’s four holy cities. The delegates toured the artists’ quarter and were inspired by its remarkable atmosphere of mysticism, art and history. As they roamed the city’s tunnels, they were impressed by the survival of so many traditional crafts and workshops. Along the way they visited galleries and met local artists.
A guide acting the role of Rabbi Yosef Caro recounted how, in the 16th century, he had composed the Shulchan Aruch, which he referred to as “the greatest bestseller ever to come out of Tzfat.” The tour, and the day as a whole, concluded with a performance of traditional songs in the Rabbi Yosef Caro Synagogue.
Many of the conference participants had traveled to Israel for various reasons many times before, but for
Sara Simon, a teacher from New Jersey, this was her first visit. “Over the years I’ve heard loads of stories about Israel, and it’s turned out to be just as amazing as I’d imagined: the landscape, the history and the wonderful people. This really is a life-changing visit,” she said.