Jewish schools celebrate Israel
Jewish school students dressed in blue and white, danced and sang to celebrate Israel's 77th birthday.
Jewish school students and teachers dressed in blue and white, danced, sang and ate falafel to celebrate Israel’s 77th birthday.
Leibler Yavneh College’s principal Shula Lazar told the crowd of students and parents that in Gematria, 77 signified ‘Oz’, in Hebrew meaning strength.
“And strength is exactly what Am Yisrael has needed and shown … since October 7. We’ve seen strength in our soldiers who have gone back to serve again and again – putting their lives on hold and on the line … We’ve seen strength in the survivors of October 7 and the returned hostages, who wake up each morning determined to rebuild their lives … And we’ve seen strength in our people as a whole … from Israel to Melbourne – a nation that refuses to fall apart, refuses to be broken.”
Lazar told the students, “Here at Yavneh, we know that strength begins with knowing who we are and what we stand for. And I want to say to each one of you … the way you learn, the way you daven, the way you speak about and love Israel and live your Torah values – that is real strength. In a world that sometimes tells you to … be less Jewish, less Zionist … you stand tall. You are the future of Am Yisrael. You are strong. You are Oz.”
While Mount Scopus principal Dan Strazjt said at the school assembly, “We should sit here and recognise that we are currently living through what our great-great-great grandchildren will look at as a miracle, but we get to live through it today.”
At Bialik College, the school set the world record with the world’s largest human Magen David. It was formed by 878 students from years 2 to 12 who came together to express their pride and solidarity with Israel. The drone footage was captured by Bialik student Jack Jolson.
Bialik principal Jeremy Stowe-Lindner remarked, “As a Zionist pluralist Jewish school, the Bialik community celebrated a joyous Yom Ha’atzmaut. After breaking a world record for the world’s largest human Magen David, our day was filled with learning about our Jewish homeland while dancing and celebrating the beauty, history and sophistication of our nearly four thousand years of Jewish indigeneity in the land of Israel.”
Bialik’s head of informal Jewish education Daniel Samowitz said they formed a Magen David to symbolise “our shared heritage, strength and hope”, adding, “We choose to spread light – standing together with pride in who we are and belief in the future we are building together.”
While The King David School Principal Marc Light wrote to the school, “For most of us, Israel is central to our sense of Jewish identity and to our conception of ourselves as a people. We must not take for granted that we have the opportunity to maintain a real and living connection as part of our ongoing lives in a way that we were denied for millenia.
“On this Yom HaAtzmaut, I am celebrating the rebirth of the Hebrew language, the extraordinary and unique character of the Israeli people and the momentous contributions of Israeli innovators, artists and thought leaders to the betterment of humanity…
“Since the devastation of October 7, 2023, we have been frequently reminded of the enormous challenges that have beset Israel and the Jewish people. Nonetheless, it is vital that we take the time to remind ourselves that we still have so much to be grateful for and to invest in hope, in Hatikva for a brighter future.”
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