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Amid war, this Israeli educator is finding new ways to promote Jewish-Arab coexistence
TEL AVIV — It only took a few minutes from the time the rocket fire from Gaza began on the morning of Oct. 7 for Karen Tal to field her first of many phone calls and messages with terrible news.
The CEO of Amal, a secular educational network whose mission is to serve Israelis of all religions, Tal heard first from the principal of an Amal school in Ofakim, a Jewish city near Gaza. The principal said she could see Hamas terrorists shooting people in the street from her apartment balcony.
“We saw the pictures on TV, but we were getting real information from the field,” recalled Tal, whose best friend’s mother and her Filipino caregiver were among those killed at Kibbutz Kfar Aza.
In the ensuing days, Tal would learn that at least 42 alumni of Amal schools were killed on Oct. 7, and several others had been taken hostage to Gaza.
As this grim picture became clearer, Tal’s first order of priorities was to figure out what she could do to support students and faculty, and to ensure that the war did not tear apart the delicate spirit of coexistence at the core of Amal’s work. About 40% of Amal’s 81 high schools and colleges are located in Arab or Druze communities. In all, over 30,000 students and 2,500 teachers are part of Amal schools.
“We’re family, and we all share the same pain. It doesn’t matter if you’re Arab or Jewish,” said Tal, 59, who immigrated to Israel from Morocco as a young child and grew up in Jerusalem. “Right now, this question of coexistence is so relevant to each one of us.”
Tal’s background and experience puts her in a unique position to deal with the monumental challenge of helping Israeli children of all ethnic backgrounds heal from this national trauma.
More than a decade ago, Tal gained international renown for transforming the Bialik-Rogozin School in impoverished south Tel Aviv into one of Israel’s most successful educational models. The school had roughly 800 students from 48 countries, including violence-plagued African nations such as Eritrea, Nigeria and Sudan, as well as Israeli Jews and Arabs.
Students were performing abysmally, and the Tel Aviv municipality wanted to close the school. But after Tal took over as principal in 2005, she combined the elementary and high schools into one entity, transformed the school into a model of coexistence, and reversed its academic decline.
In 2011, Tal won Israel’s National Education Prize for her achievements, HBO made a film about the school called Strangers No More, which won an Oscar for best short documentary, and Tal received The Charles Bronfman Prize. The $100,000 prize was established in 2004 by the children of Canadian philanthropist Charles Bronfman — Ellen Bronfman Hauptman and Stephen Bronfman together with their spouses Andrew Hauptman and Claudia Blondin Bronfman — and is given to a Jewish humanitarian under age 50 whose work is grounded in Jewish values but benefits humanity universally.
“After winning the Charles Bronfman Prize I decided it was time to search for a new challenge,” Tal said.
She used the prize money to create a nonprofit called Tovanot B’Hinuch (Educational Insights) and spent the next decade implementing her educational model — which employs long school days, volunteer private tutors and extracurricular courses — in at least 40 other schools in Israel.
“One of the main things I emphasized was coexistence between Jews and Arabs,” Tal said. “We believe that each one of these students can achieve whatever they want. But they need resources because there’s a socioeconomic gap. We know how to do it. That’s my job.”
Just over a year ago, Tal became the CEO of Amal, which was established in 1928 by the Histadrut labor federation as a nationwide secular educational network for Israelis from Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Druze backgrounds. Today Amal schools are known for their focus on science, technology and entrepreneurship — and coexistence.
As at many schools in Israel, Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack and the ensuing war have been severely disruptive. Some Amal schools are located in cities that have been evacuated due to the conflict, many students are mourning family members killed in the war, and there are staffers who have been called away as reservists for military duty. Schools in Tiberias and Hadera have taken in students evacuated from their homes near the Lebanon-Israel border.
Tal is also concerned about students falling behind academically — especially after time lost due to the pandemic. A lot of Tal’s work over the last three months has been raising money for Amal educators to deal with the current moment.
“We need more resources to help deal with the trauma,” Tal said. “We understand that we cannot give each of our students a private meeting with a psychologist. So we want to train the trainers. If our educators will be stronger, so will the students.”
Karen Tal, the CEO of Amal, a secular educational network whose mission is to serve Israelis of all religions, has been working on Arab-Jewish coexistence for most of her career. (Larry Luxner)
Twice a week, Tal visits a different high school or college in Amal’s network. During a visit to one Bedouin school in Al-Said, a village east of Beersheva, the principal recounted how he drove to the Nova trance party the morning of Oct. 7, rescued several young Jewish students and brought them back to his village for safety.
Students and faculty at Arab schools are having a particularly difficult time dealing with mixed emotions amidst the war, according to Tal. She recounted a teacher who related how sad and confusing it is to be targeted on the one hand by Hamas terrorists, who murdered both Jews and Arabs in their rampage, and on the other hand to hear from relatives in Gaza enduring airstrikes by Israel.
Tal described how she’s trying to promote coexistence among Amal’s Arab-Israeli students.
“I have three goals: for our students to develop self-confidence, then develop and identify with the village or community they live in, and finally to develop an Israeli identity,” Tal said. “My basic premise is we are not going anywhere, and the Palestinians are not going anywhere. We must live together. But this is about defining what we can and cannot do. And we should both agree that terrorism is outside the rules of the game.”
Every Israeli student regardless of religion, Tal says, should learn a core body of knowledge that includes the basics for a modern Israeli society: Hebrew, Arabic, English, math, science, and the humanities. That includes not just music, art and literature, but also the study of both the Torah and the Quran, she said.
“What I want to do in Amal is not just talk about theory, but to practice values,” Tal said. “My dream is that every Arab student will be able to speak Hebrew fluently, and that all Jewish students will learn Arabic — because language is a bridge to collaboration.”
Despite these dark times, Tal says she has hope for the future.
“There is always a solution. Even though we are in darkness, we must find that little candle of light,” she said. “It’s a question of leadership and responsibility. We don’t have the privilege of giving up.”
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The post Amid war, this Israeli educator is finding new ways to promote Jewish-Arab coexistence appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Pennsylvania Lawmakers Urge Gov. Josh Shapiro to Tackle Antisemitism in Public Schools
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and the Pennsylvania State Police provide an update on the act of arson that took place at the Governor’s Residence, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, US, April 13, 2025. Photo: Commonwealth Media Services/Handout via REUTERS
A bipartisan group of Pennsylvania state lawmakers has called on Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) to intervene in what they described as a deepening crisis of antisemitism and political extremism within the School District of Philadelphia (SDP).
In a letter sent this week, members of the “Meet Me in the Middle” caucus, which was formed to bridge partisan divides and promote practical governance, criticized district leadership, cited federal findings of civil rights violations, and urged the governor to take action. The caucus — co-founded by state Rep. Jamie Flick, a Republican who spearheaded this week’s letter — warned that SDP has become a case study in “radicalism gaining too much influence in our public institutions.”
The letter pointed to a 2024 report by the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which confirmed widespread antisemitic harassment and alleged systemic failures by SDP to address complaints from Jewish families.
“The OCR found that the district not only ignored these complaints, but failed to follow federal law, keep appropriate records, or enforce rules regarding staff conduct on social media,” the lawmakers wrote.
The letter also highlighted specific district employees whom the caucus accused of promoting extreme ideologies and creating a hostile environment. Among those named was Ismael Jimenez, director of the social studies curriculum, who allegedly mocked a Jewish teacher’s lawsuit as “white tears” and displayed an image of Assata Shakur, a convicted cop killer, outside his office.
Another teacher, Keziah Ridgeway, was suspended and later reinstated after allegedly threatening gun violence against critics and denying sexual violence took place during Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.
Ridgeway, a history and anthropology teacher in Philadelphia who promoted anti-Israel activism in the classroom, was placed on administrative last year for social media posts alluding to violence against certain Jewish parents whose names she allegedly posted on social media. Supporters of Ridgeway argue she was the victim of a smear campaign.
“This is illustrative, not exhaustive,” the letter said of the examples cited, referencing additional staff members accused of celebrating anti-police sentiment and glorifying militant imagery in the classroom.
The lawmakers also criticized the secrecy surrounding the district’s curriculum. While some Pennsylvania districts post their teaching materials online, Philadelphia’s curriculum was leaked by a concerned teacher, according to the letter, which added that the content was “highly politicized” and offensive to both Jewish and Hindu communities.
“Why do some Pennsylvania school districts post their curriculum online, while others are facing ‘leaks’ from concerned teachers?” the caucus asked.
Citing the OCR’s findings and ongoing concerns from both Jewish and Hindu families, the legislators urged Shapiro to launch a formal investigation, tighten oversight of social media policies for educators, and ensure curriculum transparency.
“Education policy is primarily a state concern,” the caucus noted. “There has been no real change in leadership in SDP, and these issues are not abating — they are getting worse.”
Invoking the governor’s own words from the 2024 Democratic National Convention, where Shapiro asked whether the nation would choose “chaos or extremism” or a path of “decency and progress,” the caucus concluded by pledging to work with his administration on legislative solutions.
“We choose decency and progress over chaos and extremism,” the letter said.
The post Pennsylvania Lawmakers Urge Gov. Josh Shapiro to Tackle Antisemitism in Public Schools first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hundreds Demand Bob Vylan Be Dropped From UK Festival After Leading ‘Death to IDF’ Chants at Glastonbury
Bob Vylan music duo performance at Glastonbury Festival (Source: FLIKR)
Hundreds of people are urging officials in the United Kingdom to ban the punk-rap duo Bob Vylan from performing at the upcoming Boardmasters music festival in Cornwall after they led an anti-Israel chant at the Glastonbury music festival last month.
Bob Vylan lead singer Pascal Robinson-Foster stirred controversy by leading thousands in the crowd to chant “death to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces]” and “free, free Palestine” during the band’s Glastonbury performance on June 28, which was televised live by the BBC. He also complained on stage about working for a “f—king Zionist” during the set at the event in Somerset, England.
Because of their actions, the London-based band has been dropped by festivals and concerts worldwide as well as their talent agency. They had their US visas revoked ahead of their American tour and police in the UK launched an investigation into the band, to see if their comments amounted to a criminal offense, including ones related to a hate crime. Their anti-IDF comments were condemned by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Glastonbury organizers, and the BBC issued a public apology for live streaming Bob Vylan’s “offensive and deplorable behavior.”
Bob Vylan have since explained that that they “are not for the death of Jews or Arabs or any other race or group.”
In light of the Glastonbury incident, councilors on the Cornwall Council, the licensing authority for the Boardmasters music festival in Cornwall, has received almost 300 formal complaints from members of the public, asking for Bob Vylan to be banned from the festival taking place from August 8-10, according to CornwallLive. Cornwall Councillor Dulcie Tudor publicly spoke about councilors receiving hundreds of complaints in a Facebook post on July 18. “Personally I would not spend any of my money to watch a band that called for the death of anyone,” Tudor wrote.
“It’s got to be the most concerted campaign I’ve seen since being on the council,” Tudor also told CornwallLive. “It’s more than the most controversial planning application.”
The council is due to hold a licensing hearing following a complaint received on July 16, which called on the authority to review the festival’s license in light of the band’s scheduled appearance. However, due to licensing hearing regulations, including a 20-day consultation period, the hearing will not take place until after the band’s performance at Boardmasters on Aug. 10, according to the BBC.
Organizers of Boardmasters said in a statement to the BBC that Bob Vylan will not be dropped from the festival despite their controversial comments. They said they are focused on having a “safe, respectful, and well-managed event.”
“Boardmasters is committed to being a space where people from all backgrounds feel welcome and safe,” the statement read. “We do not tolerate hate speech, incitement to violence, or behavior that puts anyone at risk, and we will continue to uphold these principles throughout the event and beyond. Our decision to proceed with the performance reflects a balance of factors, including the festival’s careful consideration of recent concerns, our ongoing dialogue with stakeholders, and the band’s agreement to the terms of their participation.”
“We have been clear with the band and their representatives about our expectations particularly the importance of maintaining a respectful and safe environment for everyone attending, working at, or involved in the festival,” organizers added.
Festival organizers are also partnering with Devon & Cornwall Police to ensure that the festival “continues to meet the highest standards of safety, compliance, and community accountability,” they said.
The post Hundreds Demand Bob Vylan Be Dropped From UK Festival After Leading ‘Death to IDF’ Chants at Glastonbury first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Canadian Woman Sentenced for Joining ISIS, Becomes First Person Convicted for ‘Family Support’ Role as a Spouse
Islamic State slogans painted along the walls of the tunnel was used by Islamic State militants as an underground training camp in the hillside overlooking Mosul, Iraq, March 4, 2017. Photo: via Reuters Connect.
A court in Quebec, Canada has sentenced a woman who absconded to Syria in 2014 to join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) to one day in prison and three years of probation, making her the first Canadian to be convicted for “providing support to a terrorist entity through family support as a spouse,” the Public Prosecution Service of Canada announced this week.
According to the law enforcement agency, Oumaima Chouay, 29, joined ISIS “knowing that her expected role would include marrying an ISIS fighter and raising children under the ISIS doctrine.” It added that, however, Chouay served a strictly domestic function which precluded any direct involvement in acts of terror or “actual combat” against the coalition of states — including her home government — which waged a protracted military campaign to quell the ISIS threat.
Chouay voluntarily repatriated to Canada in 2022, flying into the Montreal-Trudeau International Airport. Law enforcement intercepted her there and later transferred her to a detention facility where she was subject to “strict bail conditions” and “depolarization therapy” aimed at repairing her susceptibility to extremist messaging. The rehabilitation proved a success, psychological experts have claimed, telling the state that Chouay’s “risk of recidivism and dangerousness is very low,” a conclusion with which the country’s Integrated National Security Enforcement Team, a division of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, has reportedly concurred.
On Monday, Chouay pleaded guilty to one count of participating in the activities of a terrorist group. Her one-day prison sentence will be in addition to the 110 days served before pre-trial.
Canadian director of public prosecution George Dolhai said that a number of mitigating factors influenced Chouay’s sentencing, which is the first of its kind.
“The recommended sentence here takes into consideration the early, ongoing, demonstrated, and independently evaluated steps Ms. Chouay has taken to demonstrate remorse, take responsibility, commit to fundamental change and a rejection of extremist ideology,” Dolhai said in a statement. “This addresses the ultimate goal of protecting the community.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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