By Dr. Yehdua Stolov | Executive Director
"This little piece of land, even with all the wars and conflicts, connects so many people from all over the world. And I feel so lucky to live here and to be able to meet all of these people" -- Hadar, 14, Nes Ziona.
When school was suspended, we began online programming to provide support for both teachers and students. The initial idea was to provide a virtual space for students to come together, talk and listen, with the help of empathetic and supportive guests from abroad. Since the Tuesday after October 7th, I have been able to hold at least one zoom encounter a day (including before and after shabbat). Participants in the zooms have included Arab and Jewish students from all over Israel, ages 14-20, as well as several teachers. Our guests have come from over a dozen countries. At these encounters students were able to share their experiences and emotions – their fears, anger, frustration, hopes, aspirations, concerns for loved ones, and above all, a lot of love to combat the hate.
In addition, we set up weekly activity groups: art therapy; a reflective writing course, and mindfulness/yoga sessions. These sessions include both Arab and Jewish students. We also held guest lectures from Professor Dan Ariely (Duke University); Professor Emma Sky (Yale) and Professor Tomer Ullman (Harvard). These are 1 hour zoom talks with plenty of time for Q&A, to offer students a welcome intellectual diversion from war, and an opportunity to engage and learn.
Finally, I am sharing resources with hundreds of educators around Israel and others in need. This includes mental health support for a 24 hour hotline in English, as well as all kinds of resources for English teachers (from lesson plans to virtual guests in the classroom).
We have touched on many important and powerful topics, all while in the thick of this war (leaving the session for a few minutes to enter a bomb shelter because there are rocket warnings is sadly common). Much thanks to the many people who volunteered to zoom with our students and all who helped.
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