By Michael Jacobs
Communications Consultant
Center for Israel Education
A desire to connect with community and deep concerns about a surge in antisemitism during the Israel-Hamas war helped bring together 41 Jewish teens from 18 Atlanta-area high schools for four hours of engagement with the Center for Israel Education on Sunday, Nov. 12.
“I really enjoyed hearing from other Jewish students from different schools that I haven’t interacted with before,” a Galloway School student said about the Teen Israel Leadership Institute, the ninth CIE has held since 2018 and the second in-person TILI of 2023. “It was great to learn from and hear from students with a different experience and perspective.”
Such teen programming is a hallmark of CIE’s efforts to educate broadly about modern Israel and its essential place in Jewish peoplehood. Among other work, the nonprofit, nonpartisan center provides content with context through primary sources and expert scholarship via a website, israeled.org; webinars, including weekly sessions related to the war; and engagements with schools, Jewish nonprofits and other organizations.
In programs in its Atlanta home and online, CIE is taking TILI on the road. Plans for the first half of 2024 include Alabama, Tennessee and northern California, and the center is always ready to discuss new locations.
CIE’s ongoing work has positioned the center to respond to the war with perspective and to adapt the TILI program to address concerns about what has happened since Hamas slaughtered 1,200 people in a terrorist incursion into Israel on Oct. 7.
A Midtown High School student expressed an interest in participating in CIE’s largest-ever in-person TILI “so I can learn more about how to talk about Israel in America. Being able to communicate effectively and start conversations around Israel, especially in light of recent events, will be incredibly beneficial to me and to the greater Atlanta Jewish community.”
Teens were enriched and inspired by experts from CIE, the Jewish Agency for Israel, the Israeli Consulate to the Southeast, StandWithUs and the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, as well as college students.
Sessions addressed the origins and responses to the war, reporting on Israel and Gaza, the overlap between anti-Zionism and antisemitism, the situation on college campuses, and the opportunity for teens to show leadership and expand understanding and knowledge within and beyond the Jewish community.
Students participate in a campus antisemitism panel
“I learned a lot about the history of why Jews are hated,” a Walker School student said. “I learned that I need to do more within my community to educate people. I also need to show pride in order to combat the antisemitism.”
Attendees had the opportunity to ask questions about the war and about the responses they have heard from their peers and teachers.
“I realized how much I need to learn about Israel and its history to understand and have conversations about Israel with my peers,” a Lakeside High School student said.
Most attendees are juniors or seniors facing decisions about college, and they benefited from a session in which Emory University and Georgia Tech students spoke about their experiences on campus and how they have dealt with criticism of Israel and with incidents of antisemitism.
Those college students advised choosing universities with large Jewish student populations and with administrations that have condemned Hamas and acted to ensure Jews are safe. Beyond the specifics of Jewish campus life, CIE President Ken Stein, an emeritus Emory professor, added advice about taking a broad mix of courses with excellent teachers to make the most of the eight semesters and three summers of college.
A Woodward Academy student praised “the variety of insight regarding college and the college experience as a Jewish student.”
Debbie Sasson, the CIE project manager who organized the program, praised all the students for the attitude and eagerness with which they approached the afternoon. “You have a deep desire to learn more,” she said. “It’s clear that you have a love for Israel and your Judaism.”
