Connect with us

RSS

This California Jewish teen is helping Spanish-speaking learners become teachers — and student leaders in their schools

Like many Southern Californians, Romy Greenwald’s first language was Spanish. Romy was born in the United States, but her grandparents had immigrated to the United States from Mexico and Cuba, and her parents spoke Spanish to her.

So it was no surprise when Romy began at Dos Pueblos High School in Santa Barbara that she quickly became friends with many fellow Spanish-speaking students.

Unlike Romy, however, who is fully bilingual, many of her friends were relatively recent immigrants who struggled with integrating into the school’s English-speaking environment.

“I was the only student they knew outside of their English learning program who spoke English,” recalled Romy, now 18. “It’s very isolating to be in that situation because they really want to learn English and be a part of the school. But sometimes they were surrounded by immigrants and Spanish speakers all day, which can be comfortable but ultimately wasn’t helpful in terms of real integration, meeting other kids and learning the language.”

Romy wanted to help bridge this divide, so she created a program for recent immigrants and native English speakers studying Spanish to help one another learn the other’s mother tongue. This model not only helped with language skills, but also fostered social integration and a sense of leadership and pride among the students, especially the recent immigrants.

Several years later, the program, called MiSendero, Spanish for “my path,” now has a presence in multiple schools in California and Florida. (California schools have an estimated 1.1 million English language learners — about 20% of the nationwide total.)

Recently, Romy was recognized for her work with a 2023 Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Award, given annually by the San Francisco-based Helen Diller Family Foundation to recognize socially committed young leaders whose dedication to volunteerism exemplifies the spirit of tikkun olam — Hebrew for repairing the world. The award is given to 15 teenagers every year and comes with a $36,000 prize.

“I’m so excited to have gotten this award from the Diller Foundation, and I am super grateful to all the amazing people who made it possible,” Romy said. “What started as a way to help some of my friends learning English participate in activities at my school has turned into a much bigger dream of creating pathways for immigrant student integration and success across the country.”

Romy Greenwald created MiSendero to help bridge the divide in her high school between Spanish-speaking immigrants and native-born Californians. (Courtesy of Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards)

Looking back at what fueled her success, Romy says she found inspiration in her own family. Her mother was born in America but did not speak English before entering school. She was put into the “English learner” program in kindergarten and gained fluency by the time she completed elementary school.

Yet other immigrants, especially recent arrivals, find that integrating linguistically, culturally and socially is almost beyond their reach.

“They get put into these programs once they arrive, and then they never meet anyone else outside the program,” Romy said of the English-learning tracks. “It can be a social bubble.”

MiSendero takes immigrants out of that bubble and turns them into the leaders, Romy noted. Instead of being English learners, they become teachers, tutoring the native English speakers in Spanish. The students meet in weekly clubs where they can do homework together, or just practice conversation.

Once this setup got underway at Romy’s school, teachers and administrators quickly saw it shifted perceptions, relationships, and leadership roles — while raising students’ grades in a variety of subject areas. Administrators enthusiastically supported the program, and count tutoring time in MiSendero toward community service hours.

Over time, the program has grown. A website offers training materials and provides participants with workshops and support. During COVID, MiSendero pivoted to an online model and began matching pairs of students based on shared interests, such as art or music. When COVID restrictions eased and the students eventually met, they would go to after-school art or music clubs together.

Romy recently graduated high school, but the five schools that adopted MiSendero have made the program a permanent part of the school day, bringing new students into leadership roles.

For Romy, supporting Spanish-speaking students goes hand in hand with her Jewish passions. She ran the Jewish club at her high school, is a proud member of her local Reform temple and spent part of high school in Israel, where she has close relatives.

When Romy starts at Duke University this fall as an incoming freshman, she plans to become active in the local Hillel chapter. As for the award money from the Helen Diller Family Foundation, Romy said, she plans to use that to further her own education.


The post This California Jewish teen is helping Spanish-speaking learners become teachers — and student leaders in their schools appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Continue Reading

RSS

Reclaiming Jewish Pride on Campus: Lessons from an Israeli Reserve Captain

An Israeli soldier stands during a two-minute siren marking the annual Israeli Holocaust Remembrance Day, at an installation at the site of the Nova festival where party goers were killed and kidnapped during the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas terrorists from Gaza, in Reim, southern Israel, May 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad

I recently traveled across the United States with Olami, a global organization committed to building Jewish identity and ensuring Jewish continuity. My goal was to connect with Jewish students on campus, and share my experiences as a reserve captain in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on and after October 7th. 

This was my first trip to the US, and I came simply expecting to tell my story: On that black Saturday, I mobilized two of my sergeants and headed straight to the Nova music festival, where one of my soldiers was trapped. We began the rescue mission for him, but ultimately saved over 100 civilians. During the operation, I found my own father’s body, yet I pressed on, driven by our duty to protect others. Afterward, I continued my service in Gaza, spending months defending my country and rooting out the terrorists who had taken so much from us.

When I spoke with American students on campuses and in communities across the East Coast, I realized that something vital was missing: their confidence. Over the past year, they had faced such vicious attacks for being Jewish that they were left with a deep struggle, rooted in uncertainty, fear, and hesitancy regarding their Jewish identity.

In Israel, strength and pride in our identity are ingrained. It’s part of who we are — passed down through generations and fortified by a shared history. In the US, I encountered a very different reality.

At each event hosted by Olami, a large group of students gathered, and many expressed a deep insecurity about standing up for themselves or even speaking openly about being Jewish. They seemed paralyzed in the face of campus hostility, unsure of how to respond or confront the negativity they encountered. For the first time in my life, I saw young Jews unsure of their own strength, something I’d never encountered among my peers in Israel, where Jewish pride is second nature.

I realized my focus for the speaking tour had to shift. This trip was no longer just about sharing my story, it was about helping these students find confidence as Jews.

I wanted to address the fear and hesitation they felt in expressing their Jewish identity, and impart some of the pride that, for us in Israel, is part of our national DNA. We are raised to face daunting challenges head-on because there’s simply no alternative. We are taught from a young age that if we stand up, others back down. This strength isn’t just a mindset; it’s essential to who we are as Israelis and as Jews.

I felt compelled to share this message with the students I met. I wanted them to understand that even though American campuses may feel hostile, they don’t need to compromise their pride or dilute their identity to fit in or avoid conflict. When we stand proudly as Jews, our presence itself — as a united community — is a powerful shield against hate and prejudice. This sense of unity is something deeply ingrained in Israeli society, where we rely on one another not just for support but for survival. It’s a powerful source of resilience that I believe can be shared with Jewish communities everywhere.

To my fellow young Jews in America, I say this: you must reclaim your confidence. You have the right to be unapologetically Jewish, to speak out and stand firm against hate. It’s not easy, but when we remember that we are not alone — that Jews around the world are standing with us — our strength becomes undeniable. The challenges we face may be different, but the need for unity and Jewish pride is the same. 

I left those US campuses with a renewed understanding of the work we must do together. We need to build bridges within and between Jewish communities, creating spaces like Olami does, where students can strengthen their identity and learn to develop resilience in the face of hostility. This effort should involve meaningful dialogue between Israeli and Diaspora Jews, along with regular cultural gatherings, Shabbat meals, and holiday celebrations. These experiences reinforce our shared history, deepen our bonds, and create a supportive foundation for students to confidently embrace their Jewish identity.

Yhoni Skariszewski is a VP of Sales and a reserve deputy commander in the Givati unit of the Israeli Defense Forces. He is a graduate of Olami-Nefesh Yehudi Jerusalem University chapter.

The post Reclaiming Jewish Pride on Campus: Lessons from an Israeli Reserve Captain first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Continue Reading

RSS

‘Globalize the Intifada’ Becomes Reality as Amsterdam Erupts in Fresh Wave of Antisemitic Riots

Pro-Palestinian protesters face Dutch police while taking part in a non-authorized protest in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Nov. 10, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Anthony Deutsch

“Globalize the Intifada.”

It’s the chant that has become a staple at anti-Israel protests sweeping across the West after the Hamas-led October 7 attacks ,and throughout Israel’s subsequent war against the terrorist group in Gaza. The phrase is a call for Israel’s destruction, and a thinly veiled invitation to target Jews worldwide.

Unfortunately,“Globalize the Intifada” is fast becoming a reality. On Monday night in Amsterdam, violence erupted again. Rioters, reportedly “youth claiming solidarity with Palestinians,” attacked police with fireworks and projectiles, destroyed property, and set a tram ablaze.

This time, there were no Israeli sports fans in sight and no alleged provocation. Just a city under siege, with attackers chanting “Cancer Jews” into the night.

What’s more, the violence appears to be escalating, with Belgian police announcing on Monday the arrest of five people in Antwerp as calls spread on social media for a “Jew hunt” in the city, which was already grappling with a surge in antisemitic assaults.

The scenes in Amsterdam last week hinted at what was to come: Israeli soccer fans were ambushed in what we now know was a coordinated attack planned in advance and unleashed after the Maccabi Tel Aviv versus Ajax match.

And yet, many media outlets were predictably reluctant to call it what it was: antisemitic violence.

Meanwhile, media pundits like Mehdi Hasan and Owen Jones rushed to rationalize the attacks, implying Israelis “brought it on themselves” by singing offensive songs before the game — as if that justified being hunted down by a baying mob (and ignoring that he attack was planned.)

This, despite the Mayor of Amsterdam condemning the attacks as perpetrated by “antisemitic hit-and-run squads,” and Dutch police confirming evidence of premeditation.

In other words, Israeli fans were targeted not for their chants, but simply for being Israeli.

So, how are the media covering Monday’s fresh wave of violence? Mostly, they’re not.

The Associated Press and BBC are among the few major outlets to report on it in any capacity, and even they avoid linking it to the recent antisemitic surge — ignoring footage of rioters screaming “Cancer Jews.”

The conclusion? “No Jews, no news.”

If there’s no angle to subtly blame Jewish victims, the mainstream media doesn’t seem interested.

The attacks in Amsterdam last Thursday night, reminiscent of Nazi-era pogroms, are the direct result of the “Globalize the Intifada” movement that anti-Israel protesters have been championing for over a year. This slogan isn’t just a catchy chant; it’s a blatant call for violence against Jews, mirroring the atrocities of the First and Second Palestinian Intifadas.

Just days before Israelis were hunted down in the streets of Amsterdam, reports emerged from the Netherlands revealing that some Dutch police officers were refusing to guard Jewish sites, citing “moral dilemmas.” Such inaction and moral equivocation effectively serve as a green light for the violence we’ve witnessed, both last week and this week.

Welcome to the “globalized intifada” — it didn’t begin in Amsterdam, and it certainly won’t end there.

The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.

The post ‘Globalize the Intifada’ Becomes Reality as Amsterdam Erupts in Fresh Wave of Antisemitic Riots first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Continue Reading

RSS

Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor: Terror Is Legal, But Only PLO Can Decide on ‘The Armed ‎Option’

The bodies of people, some of them elderly, lie on a street after they were killed during a mass-infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, in Sderot, southern Israel, Oct. 7, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad

The Palestinian Authority (PA) is trying to have its cake and eat it too.

On the one hand, the PA is still angry that Hamas launched its terror war against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, without consulting it first, and that Hamas has been able to take all the credit for successfully massacring over 1,100 Israelis. As a result, Hamas has overwhelming support among Palestinians in the West Bank.

Accordingly, despite the animosity, the PA needs Hamas on board with the PLO, due to the vast support among Palestinians for Hamas. Despite the destruction Hamas has brought on the Gaza Strip, the terror movement is still 2.5-3 times more popular than its rival Fatah, the ruling party in the PA/PLO.

To balance those competing interests, PA leader Mahmoud Abbas’ advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations, Mahmoud Al-Habbash, made the following statement, sending two messages that stand somewhat at odds with each other:

  1. The PA/PLO endorses terror as “legal” and does not oppose “the armed option”
  2. Hamas or other terror organizations are not allowed to single-handedly decide and launch terror attacks. Such decisions must be made “together” and only “in the framework of the PA/PLO” — in other words: Hamas must subordinate to the PA/PLO

Click to play

Mahmoud Al-Habbash: “It is unacceptable to say that the resistance [i.e., terror] is legal or illegal — it is legal. No one can cancel this fact or evade this fact. But the resistance needs to be a comprehensive national project. Not a project of one movement that drags all the Palestinians after its decision

. No, if we want to choose the armed option, we must all go together in a national decisionThe national decision needs to be made in the framework of the PLO, the sole legal representative of the Palestinian people. No faction that feels like carrying out armed resistance can take the Palestinian people together with it without taking into account the considerations, results, and consequences.” [emphasis added]

[Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Facebook page, Nov. 1, 2024]

Palestinian Media Watch has documented that the PA, and Al-Habbash specifically, have criticized Hamas for not consulting with the PLO before it attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, launching the 2023 Gaza war

. However, they have never criticized Hamas for the massacre itself, but rather applauded and celebrated it.

The author is a senior analyst at Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this article was originally published.

The post Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor: Terror Is Legal, But Only PLO Can Decide on ‘The Armed ‎Option’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Continue Reading

Copyright © 2017 - 2023 Jewish Post & News