Solomon Schechter Eighth-Graders Celebrate Israel and the People Who Inspired It

The immortal words emblazoned on the Statue of Liberty, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” were written by Jewish-American poet Emma Lazarus.

Contemplating those words, the eighth-graders of Solomon Schechter asked the question: Was Lazarus referring to the immigrant experience in America — or, deep down, was she alluding to the need for a Jewish Homeland?

The question, along with the stories of more familiar Zionist figures —from Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, the father of modern Hebrew, to David Ben-Gurion and Golda Meir — was featured in the eighth-graders' exhibit, “Our Zionist Heroes,” the centerpiece of the annual Israel Night that took place at Solomon Schechter Day School of Bergen County Monday evening. 

The students' exhibits demonstrated that Lazarus was a proponent for the creation of a Jewish State and made strong arguments for it more than a decade before Theodor Herzl coined the term Zionism.

The exhibit is the product of months of hard work that culminated in creative multi-dimensional student-made projects on the lives, career accomplishments, and significant contributions of influential individuals to Israel's development.

Among other lesser-known facts featured in the exhibit: British chemist Chaim Weitzmann was not the first choice to be the first President of the State of Israel. 

In their quest for answers, the students discovered that the presidency was offered to another prominent Jewish figure, Albert Einstein, who declined the honor. Einstein, however, did play a prominent role in the creation of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Avinoam Segal-Elad, the new Shaliah (emissary) of the State of Israel to Northern New Jersey delivered the keynote address, entitled: “A Rabbi, an Israeli Prime Minister & a Teenager Meet – No, It Isn’t a Joke!” 

Mr. Segal-Elad is also the Director of the Center for Israel Engagement at the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey. His talk provided an Israeli perspective on the significance of young American Jews making strong connections to Israel and to Zionism.

According to Schechter Head of School Ruth Gafni, a love of Israel "is woven into the fabric of Schechter life from the youngest students, who sing Hebrew songs during their circle-time, through the third-graders, who correspond with pen pals in Nahariya, and right through the moment when the oldest students step off the plane at Ben-Gurion Airport to begin their Eighth Grade Israel Encounter.”

In talking about the eighth-graders exhibit, Gafni added, “Like their Zionist heroes of the past whom they honor at the Israel Fair, our Schechter students have also become the keepers of the flame – defending Israel’s right to exist and helping to support and develop the Jewish Homeland."