Ethiopian Integration in Petach Tikva Religious Schools
Petach Tikva has always been in the forefront of the debate over exclusivity and inclusion in the state religious school system.
Introduction: A Short History of Integration and Private Schools in Petach Tikva
Petach Tikva has both affluent and poor neighborhoods. There has long been bad feeling when integration in elementary school has been “forced.” The resentment increased with the establishment of private schools that drew affluent children from the public religious schools and left a higher percentage of weaker and poorer students in the public system.
. The title highlights the contradictory nature of the book’s theme: Israel has difficult and seemingly intractable problems, but there are solutions. Gordis builds his case carefully, with anecdotes and historical tidbits of information. In the chapter on early Zionism, we learn that Bialik’s famous poem, Nad-Ned, has a hidden message. Nad-Ned has been set to music and causes a Pavlovian reaction with the caretaker bursting into song whenever a child is put in a swing. One line asks, mah lemaalah, mah lematah?, or “What is up, what is down?” Gordis points out that Bialik chose this line from a discussion in the Mishnah (Tractate Chagigah) about the limits of questioning God’s actions and maintains that Bialik means to disparage the rabbis’ arguments. Despite the strong secularism of many early Zionists, they valued Jewish history, tradition, and ethical teachings. Bialik would have been shocked to see the lack of Jewish knowledge and identity of many modern Israelis. Gordis’ son met a young man who had never heard of the Shema, the central Jewish prayer affirming God and said twice a day and on one’s deathbed. I know a woman whose 12-year-old neighbor, one Friday night, asked her why she had lit candles. A generation that lacks Jewish identity and cultural and historical context, a generation that has not learned the value of Judaism, will have a hard time finding reasons to defend itself against threats. Gordis describes an interview with two Sudanese refugees, living in a converted shipping container and awaiting an answer regarding their legal status. As they began their story he mentally prepared himself for the refugees’ complaints about their treatment and wondered whether it had been wise to bring his teenaged son.
