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US Jewish day schools are enrolling Israeli children who have been displaced by war
(JTA) — More than a month after the start of the school year, Jewish day schools across the United States are experiencing a surge of new students: Israeli children whose own schools have been shuttered by war.
Within days after Hamas’ attack on Israel Oct. 7, Prizmah, the North American network for Jewish day schools, began getting calls from school leaders about accepting Israeli students amid the war.
So far, 50 schools have sent inquiries, according to CEO Paul Bernstein, trying to figure out everything from how to incorporate students who are not fluent in English to how to cover the unexpected expenses of new families who hadn’t planned on paying for school.
“It’s really not a trivial question to take in a student during the year,” Bernstein told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
And yet many of those schools have Israeli children newly on their rosters, with others joining them this week — a testament, Bernstein said, to the drive that Jewish day schools have to support Israel and Israelis.
“We think it’s an important contribution that a school can make to its community,” he said. “Of course, none of us wants Israelis to be disconnected from home and not able to be in Israel, but where they are here and with us, every school wants to do as much as possible to support them.”
Israeli schools were at the tail end of a Sukkot holiday break when Hamas attacked, sending the country into crisis and eliciting the largest-ever call-up of Israeli soldiers. Schools remained closed for more than a week before a scattershot reopening began, with some schools holding classes on Zoom and others, in relatively safe zones and with adequate bomb shelters, holding frequently interrupted classes in person. Two weeks after the attack, just 40% of the schools that are permitted to operate in person are doing so.
Given the uncertainty, some families that were visiting the United States during the holiday break have opted to stay. And others have chosen to join them, relocating temporarily from Israel for the relative safety and stability of the United States.
In northern New Jersey, 14 students from Israel had enrolled by the end of last week at Solomon Schechter Day School of Bergen County. Another nine were in discussions about enrolling, according to Steve Freedman, the head of school, who said most of those who have enrolled so far have strong English proficiency and family connections in the area.
An Israeli flag flies outside the Solomon Schechter Day School of Bergen County in New Milford, New Jersey, March 30, 2022. (Courtesy SSDS Communication))
Since the onset of the Israel-Hamas war, four families at the school have already mourned relatives killed in Israel.
“It’s not like our children don’t know that there’s a war going on or a conflict, however it’s described to them by their parents, in Israel,” Freedman said. “So they know that there are families who are staying here right now during the war. And so they know that they’re welcoming children who left their home and they’re very excited to welcome them and be their friend and it’s actually very sweet.”
Homework is optional for the new Israeli students. As they adjust to their new school, expectations will change, but for now, teachers are “feeling out what they’re up to doing,” Freedman explained. For older students, who use MacBooks in the classroom, more laptops are being ordered.
“Our community is completely overwhelmed by what we’re doing in the most positive way,” Freedman said. “There’s a real sense of pride that our community is doing it.”
New students have also enrolled in schools in New York, Maryland, California and elsewhere in New Jersey. In most cases, the schools are not necessarily counting on any tuition payments.
“The mitzvah on our end is just taking them all in and the money’s not the issue,” said Freedman, whose school is taking the rare step of charging monthly tuition for the Israeli families, in acknowledgment of their desire to go home, and waiving payments for families for whom that is an impediment.
“They’re not receiving handouts. This is like a dignity thing,” he said. “And so we’re just feeling each family out so that they’re comfortable and can do what they can do without feeling badly in any way.”
The Rodeph Sholom School in Manhattan is taking the same approach, according to Danny Karpf, the head of school.
“We’re just saying, ‘Come,’” he said. “What we’re going to start doing is saying people can pay what they feel comfortable paying on a monthly basis, as they’re here.”
Across the board, the usual admissions process has been pared down to the basics.
“Let’s make sure we have a phone number, we know who the parent is, we can reach them in an emergency, we need to know if they have allergies,” Karpf said, rolling off the barebones requirements. “We need to know how old they are, so we know what class to put them in, and let’s figure it out.”
Many of the dozen or so new students at Rodeph Sholom do not speak English. But the school is already built for that, Karpf explained, with a program for kids who don’t speak English fluently, and a Hebrew program for Hebrew speakers.
The next steps, he said, are figuring out how to fit as many students as possible in the school, and then raising money to meet their needs. (An Israeli initiative to support Jewish day schools has distributed resources to support teaching about the war but not yet any funding.)
“We have so many families in our community who are directly affected in many ways,” Karpf said. “It’s a way for our children who were already here, whether they’re Israeli or not, to feel more proximate to the conflict in a meaningful way, where children can connect with children and know that they are actually making a difference in comforting and supporting and befriending children who are directly impacted by their family and friends being attacked.”
On Monday, the Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy & Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School, an Orthodox school in New Jersey, announced that it had already taken in 11 students from five families and expected more to come.
“We are grateful to our JKHA faculty who are seamlessly transitioning students to their classrooms, working together with families to ensure their children acclimate and have a smooth transition to our school and to our students during this trying time,” the school wrote on Facebook.
In Maryland, a pair of Israeli siblings began classes Wednesday at Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, a pluralistic school that already has resources in place to support Israeli students. (The school serves many families of Israeli diplomats assigned to Washington, D.C.). Three more students are set to start classes this week, including another pair of siblings, and inquiries have come to the elementary, middle and high school divisions.
The school — which is mournin a recent graduate killed Friday while serving in the Israeli army — has guidance counselors in place as well as a program for students who are not yet fluent in English. By the end of the week, the new students already had invitations for weekend activities, said Dorie Ravick, director of admissions at the lower school.
“I spoke to one of our current families who is having one of the new students over on Sunday. So they’re really doing their best to welcome everyone,” she said.
Ravick said not all of the children fully understood the reason for their new classmates.
“They don’t necessarily know why they’re coming because they’re still pretty little,” she said. “The younger ones are just excited to have a new friend.”
The welcoming committees have been out in full force at other schools, too, as local Jewish families look for ways to make a difference at a time of crisis.
“Our parents are tripping over each other to try to make these families feel welcome to the point that we have to say, ‘Give them some time. They need some time to acclimate,’” said Freedman, of Solomon Schechter Day School in New Jersey. “In really bad times, you’re seeing some of the best of who we are.”
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The post US Jewish day schools are enrolling Israeli children who have been displaced by war appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Global Leaders Sound Alarm on Surge of Antisemitism at IHRA Conference
British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis speaking at the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) conference in Jerusalem on May 27, 2025. Photo: Screenshot
British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis warned that anti-Zionism has become “the new antisemitism,” amid mounting global concern over a surge in antisemitic incidents and anti-Jewish hate crimes
Speaking at the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) conference in Jerusalem on Tuesday evening, Mirvis asserted that anti-Zionism is increasingly being weaponized to mask anti-Jewish sentiment, disguised as legitimate political criticism of Israel.
Hosted by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, the annual IHRA conference — held last year in the United Kingdom — began with a moment of silence honoring the two Israeli embassy staffers murdered in Washington, DC last week.
IHRA is an intergovernmental organization comprising dozens of countries dedicated to combating antisemitism and promoting Holocaust research and education. In 2016, IHRA adopted a “working definition” of antisemitism which in the ensuing years has been widely accepted by Jewish groups and lawmakers across the political spectrum. It is now used by hundreds of governing institutions, including the US State Department, European Union, and United Nations.
In his speech, Mirvis emphasized Jerusalem’s vital role as both Israel’s capital and the enduring spiritual and cultural center of Jewish identity and faith.
“For Jews, the very presence of Almighty God is manifest here in this holy city more than in any other place on earth. And God gave this city and this land to the Jewish people for all time,” Mirvis said during the two-day conference.
“Israel is not just a geopolitical reality for the Jewish people. It is far more than that. It’s the center of our Jewish religion,” the Jewish leader continued. “So therefore, if you are anti-Zionist, you are also anti-Jewish. But more than that, you’re anti-Judaism, and your animosity affects the very wellbeing of Jews right around the world.”
“Anti-Zionism is the new antisemitism”
The Chief Rabbi addresses the opening of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Conference in Jerusalem for parliamentarians and government representatives from around the world. pic.twitter.com/ecu08YlR1r
— Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis (@chiefrabbi) May 28, 2025
Since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, anti-Israel activism has sparked a rise in antisemitic incidents. In this context, longstanding antisemitic stereotypes are increasingly being directed at Israel, with the term “Zionist” weaponized to mask deep-rooted antisemitic tropes under the pretense of legitimate political critique.
At the same event, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a speech, calling on European leaders to resist the growing demonization of the Jewish state.
Anti-Israel protesters in European countries “are basically challenging Western civilization [and] free societies as we understand them,” Netanyahu said. Many of these leaders “want to control the rampant attacks that are then directed at them for having relations with Israel, for having contact with it.”
“What you try to do is try to corral your victim when in fact, your countries are the victim. Because what is being done is an attempt to deny Israel, and in fact all free societies the ability to fight these barbarians,” the Israeli leader continued.
“Don’t succumb to the vilification, don’t succumb to this complete aversion of morality,” Netanyahu said. “I urge you to fight antisemitism not only because it’s right. I urge you to fight antisemitism because it will save you.”
During his speech, Netanyahu also warned that Israel is fighting “not merely a seven-front war [against Iran-backed proxies in the Middle East], but an eight-front war,” describing it as a broader struggle of “civilization against barbarism.”
“The most important thing you have to do in fighting antisemitism is to stand up and not be cowered,” the Israeli premier continued. “Do not be afraid to speak up. Speak up, stand up for the truth, stand up for the Jewish people, stand up for civilization.”
During the conference, Saar also delivered a speech in which he condemned international leaders and governments seeking to impose an arms embargo on Israel.
“If these initiatives will be successful, Israel will simply be eliminated,” the top Israeli diplomat said. “There will be another Holocaust – this time on the soil of the Land of Israel.”
“The ancient desire to eliminate the Jewish people has become stronger. It has become a plan of action for our enemies,” he continued.
Noting that 80 years have passed since the Holocaust, Saar emphasized IHRA’s vital role in “safeguarding and passing on the stories and lessons of the Holocaust to future generations.”
The post Global Leaders Sound Alarm on Surge of Antisemitism at IHRA Conference first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Democratic Socialists of America Defends Accused DC Jewish Museum Shooter Elias Rodriguez as ‘Political Prisoner’
Elias Rodriguez, 31, from Chicago, taken into custody by police for allegedly shooting two Israeli Embassy staffers outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC, on May 21, 2025. Photo: Screenshot
A caucus in the far-left Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) has praised Elias Rodrigez, who was charged with murdering two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, DC, last week, and called for his release from prison.
The “Liberation Caucus,” a self-described “Marxist-Leninist-Maoist” faction of the DSA, announced on Tuesday that the organization added its name to an official statement from the far-left group Unity of Fields, which applauded the shooting of Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, last Wednesday evening as they were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC.
“Elias Rodriguez’s targeted attack on two Israeli diplomatic staff on May 21, 2025, was a legitimate act of resistance against the Zionist state and its genocidal campaign in Gaza,” Unity of Fields said in a statement. “After twenty months of non-stop apocalyptic violence wrought by the Zionist movement, inflicted upon Palestinian civilians striving for national liberation as well as on the freedom fighters advancing that national liberation; after twenty months of political and legal repression by these same Zionists against our international movement opposing their campaign of total destruction — the time has now come for real consequences.”
Rodriguez, a 31-year-old left-wing and anti-Israel activist from Chicago, was charged last Thursday in US federal court with two counts of first-degree murder. He is accused of fatally shooting Lischinsky and Milgrim, a young couple about to become engaged to be married, as they left an event for young professionals and diplomatic staff hosted by the American Jewish Committee (AJC). According to video of the attack and an affidavit filed by US federal authorities supporting the criminal charges, Rodriguez yelled “Free Palestine” while being arrested by police and told law enforcement he “did it for Gaza.”
“Elias Rodriguez’s act was fully justified, at that place where legal and moral duties meet,” United of Fields said in its statement, which was signed by several far-left and anti-Israel organizations. “It is clear that international law, which the West itself established and whose institutions are dominated by the interests of these imperialists, establishes a duty to take action to stop genocide, including the use of violence to do so.”
Unity of Fields urged its followers to lend Rodriguez moral support by sending him letters, donating funds to his prison account, supporting his legal defense, and attending his court hearings.
The DSA Liberation Caucus praised the statement as “excellent,” and called on authorities to release Rodriguez.
“Excellent statement that we are proud to add our name to. Free Elias Rodriguez and all political prisoners,” the group posted on social media.
Excellent statement that we are proud to add our name to. Free Elias Rodriguez and all political prisoners. https://t.co/z1yW0xm5xZ pic.twitter.com/6MIBhaCFKX
— DSA Liberation Caucus
☭ (@dsaliberation) May 27, 2025
DSA, one of the country’s premier leftist political advocacy organizations, has mobilized in recent years to elect anti-Israel members to the US Congress. Influential lawmakers such as US Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Greg Casar (D-TX), and Cori Bush (D-MO) are all current members of the socialist organization. Others such as Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) and Summer Lee (D-PA) are former members.
The organization also counts rising star and aspiring New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani among its ranks. Mamdani has made his anti-Israel activism a centerpiece of his mayoral campaign, accusing the Jewish state of committing “genocide” in Gaza and arguing that it does not offer “equal rights” to all of its citizens.
The DSA has ramped up its anti-Israel rhetoric during the Gaza war. On Oct. 7, 2023, the organization issued a statement saying that Hamas’s massacre across southern Israel that day was “a direct result of Israel’s apartheid regime.” The organization also encouraged its followers to attend an Oct. 8 “All Out for Palestine” event in Manhattan.
In January 2024, the DSA issued a statement calling for an “end to diplomatic and military support of Israel.” Then in April, the organization’s international committee, DSA IC, issued a missive defending Iran’s right to “self-defense” against Israel. Iranian leaders regularly call for the Jewish state’s destruction, and Tehran has long provided Hamas with weapons and funding.
The post Democratic Socialists of America Defends Accused DC Jewish Museum Shooter Elias Rodriguez as ‘Political Prisoner’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israeli Minister Comments on Calls to Boycott Irish Rap Trio Kneecap From Glastonbury Music Festival
Members of Kneecap pose on the red carpet at the Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA) Awards in Dublin, Ireland, Feb. 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Israel’s Minister of Culture and Sports Miki Zohar shared his thoughts with The Algemeiner on Tuesday about the mounting pressure that Glastonbury Music Festival organizers are facing to disinvite the anti-Israel, Irish rap group Kneecap from the annual event taking place next month in the United Kingdom.
Several government leaders and Members of Parliament (MPs) in the United Kingdom, as well as Jewish organizations and pro-Israel supporters in the entertainment industry, have called on Glastonbury organizers to remove the Belfast-formed band from the festival’s lineup of performers because of their anti-Israel comments, alleged support for the Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist organizations, and incitement for violence against British MPs. Kneecap is scheduled to perform on June 28 at Glastonbury.
Kneecap band member Liam O’Hanna, 27, was charged on May 21 with a terrorism offense in the UK for displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig in North London last November. Hezbollah is a UK-designated terrorist organization and it is an offense under the UK’s Terrorism Act of 2000 to support the Iran-backed Islamist group. Kneecap criticized the terrorism offense in a released statement in which they also accused Israel of genocide and proclaimed, “Free Palestine.”
When asked if he supports efforts to have Kneecap banned from Glastonbury because of their offensive and controversial remarks, Zohar began by saying, “Israel doesn’t support boycotts. We want that everybody will respect each other. We want that people will respect Israel and we’re trying to do our best to respect other people, also the people who are not supporting Israel.”
“[But] there is a big difference between someone that is not supporting Israel and people that is calling to destroy Israel or calling to make terror actions against Israel,” he added, differentiating between legitimate criticism of Israeli politics and calls to carry out violence against the state of Israel. “Everyone that will call to attack Israel or make terror actions against us, of course I think they should not be participating in events because they are supporting terror and calling for destroying Israel. But if some other organizations people or bands are against Israel because they don’t think the same way that Israel thinks, we don’t call for boycott because this is not the way that we act.”
“Unfortunately, those who are against Israel … the truth is not something that they care about,” Zohar continued. “We say if people call for terror actions or to destroy Israel, yes, they cannot participate in events. But if people don’t support Israel, we respect that and we’re fine with that. But we won’t allow [them] to spread lies against our country and we will continue to say the truth.”
In April, the northern Irish band displayed anti-Israel messages — including “Free Palestine, F–k Israel” — during their set at the Coachella Music Festival in California. Videos from a Kneecap concert in November 2023 show one member of the Irish rap trio calling for the murder of British MPs by saying, “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.” Another clip, from a Kneecap concert in London in April 2023, appeared to show a member of the trio shouting: “Up Hamas, up Hezbollah.” In April, Kneecap apologized and clarified its remarks from 2023 and 2024 in a released statement.
During their performance at Glastonbury last year, Kneecap displayed on screen the message “Free Palestine” and another message that erroneously accused Israel of murdering over 20,000 children. The trio additionally led the audience in chanting “Free, free Palestine.”
Kneecap has also repeatedly posted anti-Israel messages on social media, such as accusing the Jewish state of genocide and calling the country “the most depraved regime on earth.”
Several of Kneecap’s festival appearances for this summer have already been canceled – including at Germany’s Hurricane Festival and Southside Festivals, the Eden Project concert series in the UK, and a replacement show in Plymouth.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch is among the UK politicians calling for Kneecap to be removed from the Glastonbury lineup, while Security Minister Dan Jarvis said Glastonbury organizers should “think very carefully” about allowing the band to perform at the festival. British television personality Sharon Osbourne, who is also the wife of Black Sabbath lead singer Ozzy Osbourne, demanded that Glastonbury ban the “pathetic band full of hate” from performing at the festival. “I pray that they are [banned] and if they’re not, shame on Glastonbury,” she said during an appearance on “Piers Morgan Uncensored.”
Among those who have sent letters to Glastonbury organizers protesting Kneecap’s scheduled appearance include a Holocaust survivor, Labour MP David Taylor, the Board of Deputies of British Jews, and Shadow Home Secretary and MP Chris Philp. British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin have also condemned the band.
When asked about Kneecap, former British Attorney General Sir Michael Ellis urged music festival organizers to properly go through their lineup of artists before allowing them to perform. “I do think that it’s an obligation, especially after what happened at Coachella, that Glastonbury and other festivals here in the UK have a responsibility to really check those bands whose behavior may cross that line,” he told Britain’s news channel GB News. Meanwhile, Scottish First Minister John Swinney has called for Kneecap to be removed from the line-up of Scotland’s TRNSMT music festival.
Zohar told The Algemeiner that he has not been in touch with any member of the UK government about Kneecap’s upcoming performance at Glastonbury. He suggested that the British government does not typically take enough action when needed to condemn anti-Israel behavior or comments.
“The UK a lot of times, unfortunately, are supporting these kinds of comments and they also make bad decisions in those actions, like to cancel agreements with Israel, and that’s something we don’t respect and agree with,” Zohar said, apparently referring to the British government’s recent decision to halt free trade talks with Israel. “The UK is very, very hard to talk with about these issues. They are not supportive so much. Hopefully they will change their ways and realize the truth — that we are the good people. Eventually they need to know that they are next, because when the terror groups finish with us, they will come for them. Because they are a part of the free world.”
On May 23, just days after a band member was charged with a terrorism offense, Kneecap headlined London’s Wide Awake music festival, where they led the audience in chanting “free, free Palestine.” O’Hanna told the crowd that authorities were “trying to silence us” before Glastonbury and asked fans not to be “on the wrong side of history.”
“The world’s not listening,” he said. “The world needs to see solidarity of 20,000 people in a park in London chanting, ‘free free Palestine!’”
“Let’s remember how lucky we are to be in a field with our friends and not being bombed from the sky,” added Kneecap’s frontman Mo Chara.
Last week, Kneecap released a new song called “The Recap” featuring Mozey. It begins with an audio clip of a news report about the band being investigated by counter-terrorism police.
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