Jewish day schools in US take up mantle for both Israeli and American students amid Gaza conflict

Jewish day schools in the U.S. are dealing with an influx of Israeli students who have left their country amid the war with Hamas while also caring for American children who feel close to the conflict. 

Some of the schools are offering Israelis free tuition and help navigating their trauma and language barriers.

Many others are trying to educate their students on the grisly violence of Oct. 7 in an age-appropriate way as the war has spurred U.S. communities to action and advocacy.

Israeli students coming to the US 

The war has caused many Israeli families to come to the U.S. for safety, bringing students who had to enroll in schools well into the academic year.

“Every school that had inquiries from Israeli families were incredibly welcoming to the families and their students, even though it’s during the school year, which it’s not an easy thing to enroll new students,” said Paul Bernstein, CEO of Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools. 

A survey from Bernstein’s group recently found that 92 percent of Jewish day schools in the U.S. and Canada have fielded questions from Israelis about joining their institutions since the war began. The interest was in all types of Jewish day schools, with 80 percent saying they have enrolled new students.

The Israel Democracy Institute said around 300,000 Israelis are internally displaced, mostly in towns bordering Gaza.  

Bernstein laid out some of the difficulties that are faced when enrolling Israeli students, such as language barriers, addressing curriculum differences between the countries and making sure the students have the mental health support they need, especially those whose family or friends are fighting in the war.

“There is the need for mental health support, increasing the number of counselors,” Bernstein said, noting Hebrew-speaking counselors were also needed for Israeli students.

Jason Feld, head of Akiba Yavneh Academy in Dallas, told USA Today that in the chaotic times for these families, the parents wanted “some structure and routine for their children.”

“What everyone in the Jewish community is going through, and especially these families, is so heavy. But we’re also trying to keep things light. Kids are already bonding with their teachers,” Feld said.

Educating students on the Oct. 7 attack

The Oct. 7 attack killed 1,200 people in Israel, mostly civilians, with horrific reports of torture and sexual violence capturing headlines worldwide.

Whether Jewish schools in the U.S. serve younger children or teenagers, it has been difficult to rehash the events in an age-appropriate way.  

“I would say that that concern is present even with adolescents and not just with younger children. We live in an age when the pictures are there. Our students live with social media, live with technology, and so they are seeing pictures and they are seeing all of these challenges. And as a result, we need to try to help them understand the nature of what happened the nature of evil,” said Rabbi Leonard Matanky, dean at Ida Crown Jewish Academy in Skokie, Ill.  

For younger children, the line has been harder to toe as schools looked to shield them while making sure they could be educated on the issue.

“Younger kids, often what the teachers are trying to do is, along with families, is to protect them from the worst of the news and make sure that they can understand the conflict that is happening without being exposed to or traumatized by awful stories and the awful images that are available,” Bernstein said.

Increased backing for Israel 

Some Jewish day schools have stepped up their support for Israel, hosting fundraisers and other events to support the country.

“What has happened is our level of programming that deals both with current events and also within Israel advocacy is increased significantly,” Matanky said.  

He said fundraisers and speakers have been successful in their communities, with all proceeds going to Israel, along with students going to Israel. 

“We have a group of students who will, our senior class, be volunteering for a month in Israel to try to help out with farmers and others who are unfortunately not able to work their fields, to harvest the crops and other and other types of volunteer activities,” Matanky said. 

Bernstein said they had many students and parents take buses to Washington, D.C., for the March for Israel rally last month.

Keeping students safe 

A top priority at the schools has been the safety of their students as antisemitism has risen across the board in the U.S. since the war began.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said in December there was a 337 percent increase in antisemitic incidents since the Oct. 7 attack.  

“Since the war started, schools immediately went on to a higher sense of alert even though there was no credible danger that the authorities identified at the time. There was an increased sense of awareness and concern,” Matanky said.

Bernstein said there have been a number of threats towards Jewish day schools causing an increase in physical security, but also a need to educate students on the danger of antisemitism.

“One of the educational needs is to talk to kids about antisemitism and help them understand what the threat is and also ways in which they can stand up for themselves,” he said.