Education – key to peace

Community singing at school to honor Ori’s memory. Source: screenshot from clip.

A moving event recently commemorated Ori Ansbacher’s brutal murder by a Palestinian terrorist in Jerusalem 6 years ago. It was held as a community singing at the school where Ori graduated, named A-H-I, an abbreviation for Ahdut Israel – Israel Unity. An elite IDF unit led by Major Motty Shamir caught the vicious terrorist who killed Ori. Several years later, on the Simchat Torah holiday of October 7, Motty fell in a heroic battle to protect Kibbutz Re’im. A few months later, a sweet girl was born to Motty, May God Avenge Him, and Revital, his brave wife. The baby girl was given the name of Ori. They joined students and teachers to sing together one of Ori’s songs, “To spread the great light of Ori” (Ori means my light in Hebrew), and “To pray for a world of Peace and Light”: Make your world a world of Peace, a Peace of all worlds – forever.

The clip with English subtitles is worth viewing at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnshEjAFP0w or with the original Hebrew subtitles at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fj9XyV2Psw

It is a Jewish response to evil and tragic loss: stand up for improvement – in Hebrew, Tikkun Olam (literally “repair of the world”) – educate for values, with graceful spiritual elevation, pray and hope for Peace.

By contrast, Palestinian schools have been, for years, preaching hate, demonizing Israel and glorifying terrorism, inciting schoolchildren to violence, teaching them that peace-making is undesirable and a sign of weakness. See https://www.impact-se.org/wp-content/uploads/Review-of-2022-UNRWA-Produced-School-Materials.pdf For four consecutive years, the European Parliament has been criticizing the Palestinian Authority for its antisemitic school material and passed a resolution in May 2023 conditioning future funding for education on its removal. The European Parliament is not too often suspected of a pro-Israel bias.

This is an overt violation of the Oslo Agreements, three decades earlier, by which statements of hatred and incitement against Israel were to be eradicated from Palestinian textbooks: Israel and the Palestinian Authority were to foster mutual understanding and tolerance. See a scholarly report at

https://doi.org/10.1080/09546550008427551

An image of a girl smiling as ‘heretics’ are burned in a Palestinian textbook. Source: TOI (link below) with credit to IMPACT SE

https://www.timesofisrael.com/eu-parliament-slams-hateful-palestinian-textbooks-threatens-funding-freeze/

Why have decision-makers tolerated such blatant violations of agreements? Have we underestimated the critical value of education? How come Jews forget the fundamental merit of teaching for values?

On the importance of education, twice daily, a Jew says in the prayer Shma Israel: “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home, walk along the road, lie down, and get up.” (Deuteronomy 6:6-7). It is the quintessence of the forthcoming Seder night on Passover: “And you shall tell your child on that day” (Exodus 13:8), teaching children against oppression of others, and about the critical values of freedom and justice.

This was Ori’s message, recapitulated in a beautiful performance at her school in Tekoa. I’m proud that two of our granddaughters participated in this teaching community singing for Light and Peace.

Education should be a vital component of any future agreement for achieving long-lasting peace in our region. This requirement must be enforced through careful monitoring and strong sanctions for any violations.

May He who makes peace in the heavens grant peace to us.
Source: screenshot from the clip referred to at the top of this blog.