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For American teens in Israel, the war brings lessons in resilience and caring
This article was produced as part of JTA’s Teen Journalism Fellowship, a program that works with Jewish teens around the world to report on issues that affect their lives.
(JTA) — On a night where students at Yeshivat Lev HaTorah would typically be up late learning Torah, they were taking shifts volunteering at a local grocery store. Students restocked shelves for Yesh Chessed, a grocery store in Beit Shemesh facing staffing shortages amid the war in Israel. Their support allowed the store to remain open and serve Israeli families.
“The entire general vibe of all of Israel right now is, ‘If you can help, you help,’” Eli Cohen, a recent high school graduate from Atlanta, Georgia on a gap year at Lev HaTorah, said while tying tzizit garments to send to soldiers.
Participants in Israel-based gap-year programs like Lev HaTorah have joined nearly half of all Israelis in volunteering in the weeks since Hamas launched an attack killing 1,200 Israelis and causing the army to mobilize roughly 360,000 reservists. For some programs, however, adapting to the situation in Israel has not been easy.
The war in Israel forced gap-year programs, which attract high school students, recent graduates and college students from abroad for extended stays in Israel, to adjust their routines on short notice. Schools now accommodate increased student volunteerism in their schedules. Many programs are overcoming staffing shortages as faculty and staff join reserve duty or need to support their families. Schools have placed added focus on the safety and well being of their students and faculty.
Amid the crisis, some students chose to leave their programs in Israel. Masa Israel Journey, a nonprofit that oversees many gap-year programs, began the year with 5,700 fellows in Israel. Around 4,000 remain during the war, with a portion of those who initially left now returning.
And some programs suspended their activities altogether. Alexander Muss High School in Israel, a study abroad program for teens, sent its roughly 160 students back to America in order to relieve its staff members, according to JD Krebs, a school spokesperson, and not for safety concerns. “We have an entire staff and faculty made up of Israelis who are affected by the war,” Krebs told JTA. “We felt we needed to give them the time they needed to spend with their families.”
Before their homebound chartered flight on Oct. 12, Muss students launched a fundraising page, which raised over $120,000 for those impacted by the war. In addition, they made 1,600 care packages for displaced families.
Programs that remain open in Israel struggle with staffing issues as well. Several counselors at Aardvark Israel, a gap-year program that offers studies and internships in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, left for reserve duty. Emma Flanders, an Aardvark admissions coordinator, said that other staff members fill in vacancies. “We’re a very close staff and very close community,” said Flanders. “That’s our friends on the frontline. Of course, I’m going to go in, help them and help their students.”
Yeshivat Lev HaTorah in Beit Shemesh, Israel hosted a carnival for local families and children whose schools were closed amid the war. (Yeshivat Lev HaTorah)
Aardvark student Donovan Ahlquist, 18, said that many of his peers returned to America out of safety concerns. Still, he said that the students and counselors who remain have grown more connected to each other. “It’s really wonderful having people here to talk to about it,” said Ahlquist, “because we’re all going through the same… deeply traumatic event.”
By staying in Israel, Ahlquist said that he knows he is helping the country and its people in a time of need. “Without Israel, we have nothing,” he said. “Israel is our home. Israel is everything.”
Ahlquist’s original goal of personal growth for his gap year remains unchanged, even as he supports Israel through the crisis. “While I’m here, I can stay here and help out as much as I can,” said the New Orleans teen. “Then I know that I’m being useful, and I am still going to grow as a person.”
In response to the war, Aardvark has been trying to foster unity amongst its students. “A lot of what we’ve been doing is actually bringing the students together more than they might be used to,” Aardvark’s Flanders said. The gap year program now allocates time for more community-building events such as movie nights and yoga classes.
Aardvark also strives to maintain a sense of normalcy by encouraging students to continue their classes and internships, even virtually when necessary.
Some programs shifted entirely to virtual classes. Israel XP, a gap-year program at Bar-Ilan University, originally planned for its students to arrive on Oct. 10, three days after the war in Israel began. “We unfortunately had to delay the arrival of our students, but we have begun classes on Zoom,” Natalie Menaged, chief operating officer of Israel XP at Bar-Ilan University, told JTA. “We look forward to welcoming our students to Israel as soon as we can.”
Those that can continue operating in Israel use the opportunity to help Israeli communities in a time of crisis. On top of their normal classes, students at Midreshet Lindenbaum, a Jerusalem-based seminary, spend hours preparing packages for soldiers and craft kits for children who cannot attend school. Director of Programming Cheryl Burnat said that the seminary also hosted a community camp with activities for kids and a space for parents to relax over breakfast.
An Aardvark Israel student volunteering in the date farms at Kibbutz Ketura, near Eilat, where participants in the gap-year program spent a week after the initial attacks decompressing, volunteering and helping displaced families from Israeli towns near the Gaza border. (Aardvark Israel)
Lindenbaum student Jemima Schoen said that volunteering and dedicating her Torah study to Israeli soldiers helps lift her spirits and lessen her anxiety over the war. Schoen, an 18-year-old from Atlanta, Georgia, added that her presence in Israel gives her a different perspective of Israeli resilience. Unlike those in America who tend to focus on the tragedies presented in the news from afar, “here in Israel, people are really trying to move forward, help out and change things for the good,” she said.
Programs say they prioritize the security and mental well-being of their students, particularly in response to the situation in Israel. Students at Lev HaTorah now need their parents’ permission to leave the neighborhood, and the yeshiva makes an effort to keep students near shelters should a siren sound.
Staff members “have a personal investment in every single student, and the doors are always open, even in normal times,” said Ariella Mendlowitz, a spokesperson for Lev HaTorah. During the war, she said, the staff increased their availability to students.
Lev HaTorah also supports members of Lev LaChayal, its program for lone soldiers, or soldiers from abroad who often don’t have family in Israel. Yeshiva students gather and package essentials to send to former Lev HaTorah students who now serve in the Israel Defense Forces without immediate family members in the country.
The yeshiva wants its students to know that, through their initiatives, students are “staying here for a purpose,” said Mendlowitz.
Cohen was glad he decided to stay in Israel. “I can be here and I can make whatever difference that I can make, whether it’s absolutely miniscule or on a larger scale,” he said. Cohen said he no longer feels like an American visitor on a gap year but like an active contributor to Israeli society. “You never think you actually will wake up one day, at least from the American perspective, and see rockets flying through the sky,” he said. “It’s a call to action and a call to responsibility.”
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The post For American teens in Israel, the war brings lessons in resilience and caring appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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US Senators Urge Secretary of Homeland Security to Secure Northern Border From Gaza Refugees
US Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaking at a press conference about the United States restricting weapons for Israel, at the US Capitol, Washington, DC. Photo: Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
Six US senators sent a letter to US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas this week requesting that he increase security measures along the northern border in response to Canada accepting an influx of refugees from Gaza, the Palestinian enclave ruled by the terrorist group Hamas.
The six Republican lawmakers — Sens. Marco Rubio (FL), Ted Cruz (TX), Joni Ernst (IA), Tom Cotton (AK), Mike Braun (IN), and Josh Hawley (MO) — said they were “deeply concerned” that refugees from Gaza could sneak into the United States. The senators warned that allowing unvetted Palestinian refugees to cross the border poses a serious national security threat.
“On May 27, 2024, the Government of Canada announced its intent to increase the number of Gazans who will be allowed into their country under temporary special measures,” the senators wrote. “We are deeply concerned and request heightened scrutiny by the US Department of Homeland Security should any of them attempt to enter the United States at ports of entry as well as between ports of entry.”
After arriving in Canada, the Palestinian refugees will be given a “Refugee Travel Document,” which serves as a valid form of identification, the letter claimed, adding that US Citizenship and Immigration Services recognizes these documents as a valid substitute for a passport. The senators warned that “individuals with ties to terrorist groups” could potentially enter into the United States.
The letter argued that the US should maintain “common-sense terrorist screening and vetting” for any individual attempting to enter its borders from a foreign country. The lawmakers lamented that the Biden administration’s “”ax border enforcement” has rendered the country vulnerable to potential terrorist attacks. From April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024, the US Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Field Operations intercepted over 233 suspected terrorists at the northern border, according to the letter.
“[T]he possibility of terrorists crossing the US-Canada border is deeply concerning given the deep penetration of Gazan society by Hamas,” the senators wrote. “It would be irresponsible for the US to not take necessary heightened precautions when foreigners attempt to enter the United States.”
On Oct. 7, Hamas launched the ongoing war in Gaza with its Oct. 7 invasion of and massacre of 1,200 people across southern Israel. The Palestinian terrorist group also kidnapped over 250 hostages.
In response, Israel launched defensive military operations in Gaza with the aim of freeing the hostages and permanently dislodging Hamas from the neighboring enclave.
The vast majority of Palestinians in Gaza, as well as the West Bank, still support Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel that started the ongoing war, and they would prefer a “day after” scenario in which Hamas remains in control of Gaza rather than the Palestinian Authority, which governs in the West Bank, or other Arab countries, according to recent Palestinian polling. The same polling found that, when asked about support for Palestinian political parties and movements, a plurality chose Hamas.
US lawmakers are split along party lines as to whether the United States should accept refugees from Gaza. Republicans are largely opposed to importing refugees from Gaza, arguing that individuals from the war-torn enclave present “a national security risk” to the United States.” In May, Ernst and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) sent US President Joe Biden a letter, urging him not to accept any refugees from Gaza.
In June, however, a group of 70 Democratic lawmakers sent Mayorkas a letter, requesting he create “pathways” for more refugees of the Israel-Hamas war to resettle in America.
The post US Senators Urge Secretary of Homeland Security to Secure Northern Border From Gaza Refugees first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Video of Masked Man Vowing ‘Rivers of Blood’ at Paris Olympics Over Israel Support Appears to Be Fake, of Russia Origin
Screenshot of a widely circulated video published on social media showing a masked man vowing that “rivers of blood will flow” at the 2024 Paris Olympics due to France’s support for Israel. According to reports, the video appears to be fake and of Russian origin.
A widely circulated video published on social media this week showing a masked man vowing that “rivers of blood will flow” at the 2024 Paris Olympics due to France’s support for Israel appears to be fake and of Russian origin, according to reports.
The video — published on Tuesday on social media networks including X/Twitter and Telegram — featured a keffiyeh-clad man with his face covered, delivering an Arabic-language address threatening France with violence due to the country’s alleged support for Israel amid its ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza.
Addressing “the people of France” and “French President [Emmanuel] Macron,” the masked individual said, “You supported the Zionist regime in its criminal war against the people of Palestine. You provided Zionists with weapons; you helped murder our brothers and sisters, our children.”
“You invited the Zionists to the Olympic games. You will pay for what you have done!” continued the man, who wore a shirt adorned with a Palestinian flag. “Rivers of blood will flow through the streets of Paris. This day is approaching, God willing. Allah is the greatest.”
The video, published on X/Twitter by the account @endzionism24 and retweeted by Palestinian activist Ihab Hassan, ended with the speaker holding a prop severed head complete with fake blood up for the camera.
He is not a Palestinian:
A video clip has surfaced showing an individual wearing a keffiyeh and a Palestinian flag badge, threatening France with a “river of blood” at the Olympic Games.
It is glaringly obvious to any Arabic speaker that this person is not Arab; his dialect… pic.twitter.com/rwWGkkbiAi
— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) July 23, 2024
Hassan and other social media users immediately noted that the man speaking was clearly not a native Arabic speaker, citing his reasonably fluent but awkward and occasionally incorrect pronunciation.
Many social media users aware of the mispronunciations seemed to blame Israel for the video, implying the clip was a false flag meant to fearmonger and demonize Palestinians and Muslims. They did not address the fact that Israel has access to hundreds of thousands of native Palestinian Arabic speakers who would sound far more convincing than the man in the video.
On Wednesday, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that “French secret services and their partners have not been able to authenticate the veracity of this video.”
According to researchers at Microsoft, however, the video appears to be part of a Russian-linked disinformation campaign meant to disrupt the Olympics, which began with the opening ceremony on Friday.
The researchers from Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Center told NBC News that the clip appears to have come from a Russian disinformation group known as Storm-1516, an outgrowth of Russia’s Internet Research Agency.
The latest clip was linked to a similar disinformation video falsely alleging that Ukraine had sent arms to Hamas — a claim for which there is no evidence. According to the researchers, the more recent video appears to be part of a Russian scare campaign meant to disrupt the Olympics.
The video came just days before France’s rail infrastructure was hit on Friday, ahead of the start of the Olympics, with widespread acts of vandalism including arson attacks, paralyzing travel to Paris from the rest of France and Europe just hours before the opening ceremony of the Olympics. French authorities described the acts as “criminal” and “malicious.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that the sabotage of France’s high-speed rail network was directed by Iran, which Western intelligence agencies have for years labeled as the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism.
“The sabotage of railway infrastructure across France ahead of the Olympics was planned and executed under the influence of Iran’s axis of evil and radical Islam,” Katz wrote on X/Twitter. “As I warned my French counterpart [Stéphane Séjourné] this week, based on information held by Israel, Iranians are planning terrorist attacks against the Israeli delegation and all Olympic participants. Increased preventive measures must be taken to thwart their plot. The free world must stop Iran now — before it’s too late.”
Katz was referring to a letter he sent on Thursday to Séjourné raising alarm bells about what he described as a plan by Iran to attack Israel’s Olympic delegation.
Darmanin and French National Police both announced previously that they are taking increased security measures to ensure the safety of Israel’s Olympic delegation while they are in Paris amid mounting threats. These measures include providing them with round the clock security from French police. The Israeli delegation will also receive additional security details from Israel’s Shin Bet security agency during the Olympics.
The post Video of Masked Man Vowing ‘Rivers of Blood’ at Paris Olympics Over Israel Support Appears to Be Fake, of Russia Origin first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Top St. Louis Newspaper Endorses US Rep. Cori Bush’s Opponent, Argues Incumbent’s Israel Stance Is ‘Disqualifying’
US Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) raises her fist as US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) addresses a pro-Hamas demonstration in Washington, DC. Photo: Reuters/Allison Bailey
The editorial board of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the largest daily newspaper in Missouri, has endorsed the opponent of US Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), pointing to the incumbent congresswoman’s lack of legislative accomplishments and stance on the Israel-Hamas war.
The Post-Dispatch argued that Bush’s position on Israel and the Gaza war should be “disqualifying” for any elected representative. The outlet took umbrage with Bush for equating a close democratic ally of the US with a genocidal terrorist organization.
“Israel’s conduct of the war has been far from perfect, but it remains a democracy fighting for survival against an evil terrorist organization. Bush’s tendency to equate both sides — and even to side with the terrorists, as when she cast one of just two House votes against a resolution to bar Hamas members from the US — should in itself be disqualifying for re-election,” the editorial board wrote.
Bush has established herself as one of the most vocal critics of Israel in the US Congress. Only nine days after Hamas’ Oct. 7 slaughter of roughly 1,200 people in southern Israel, Bush called for an “immediate ceasefire” between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group. As the war dragged on, Bush’s rhetoric toward Israel sharpened, with the congresswoman accusing the Jewish state of committing “genocide” in Gaza and “apartheid” in the West Bank. Bush has also accused Israel of inflicting a “famine” in Gaza without providing evidence.
Bush seems more interested in pandering to the far-left fringes of the progressive movement than serving her constituents, the Post-Dispatch argued. Bush’s membership in “The Squad” — a clique of far-left progressive, anti-establishment lawmakers in the House of Representatives — has rendered her completely incapable of “accomplishing anything” in the halls of Congress, according to the newspaper.
The editorial board urged its readers to vote for Wesley Bell, pointing to his moderated approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as an example of his pragmatism and moral clarity.
“On Israel, Bell offers an appropriately measured stance, acknowledging the need to protect Gazan civilians and work toward a two-state solution, while supporting America’s closest ally in the Middle East,” the outlet wrote.
In contrast to Bush, Bell has expressed more sympathy to Israel’s military operations in Gaza, emphatically rejecting the notion that Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute “genocide” or “ethnic cleansing.”
Moreover, Bell has strengthened his ties with the Jewish community over the course of his campaign. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the foremost pro-Israel lobbying group in the US, donated a reported $5 million to Bell’s campaign through its United Democracy Project super PAC. A group of 30 St. Louis-area rabbis penned a letter endorsing Bell, accusing Bush of a “lack of decency, disregard for history, and for intentionally fueling antisemitism and hatred.” Bell also brought about an official “director of Jewish outreach” to increase turnout among the Jewish community.
A poll commissioned by McLaughlin & Associates and sponsored by the CCA Action Fund, a pro-Bell super PAC, showed Bell with a commanding 56 percent to 33 percent lead over Bush.
Supporters of Israel see the primary race as a prime opportunity to oust another opponent of the Jewish state from the halls of Congress. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), a progressive lawmaker, lost his primary race to a pro-Israel challenger on June 25. Over the course of his reelection campaign, Bowman accused Israel of committing “genocide” and enacting “apartheid” against Palestinians. Bowman’s comments incensed Jewish constituents in the leafy suburbs of Westchester County, New York.
Furthermore, observers are looking to the race as a potential indicator of the Democratic electorate’s position on Israel. Opinions of the Jewish state among Democrats have soured in the months following Oct. 7, calling into question whether anti-Israel views are still a liability with American liberals.
The post Top St. Louis Newspaper Endorses US Rep. Cori Bush’s Opponent, Argues Incumbent’s Israel Stance Is ‘Disqualifying’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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