While the typical American teen spends junior and senior year preparing for college, teenagers in Israel spend time preparing to enter the military for 2-3 years of mandatory service. A couple of these teenagers came to history teacher Matt LaConti’s classroom to share their first hand experience.
The relationship with ELHS began close to 20 years ago when organizers from the Jewish Federation connected with Mr. LaConti and arranged for local survivors of the Holocaust to come and share experiences with his classes and ELHS. This “Encountering Survivors” program served as a unique opportunity for students to learn about the Holocaust directly from Holocaust survivors. Survivor Henny Simon shared personal stories of her childhood, experiences during the Holocaust, her liberation, and immigration to the United States. Encountering Survivors has led to ELHS involvement in other programs with the Jewish Federation like the current emissary program. All of these programs give a person-to-person approach that can be lacking in a broader assembly format.
This year’s program included two teens. Emissaries Daniel and Gefen (due to security concerns, last names have been omitted). both arrived last August to participate in the program. The goal of these visitors were to share culture, connections, and provide common ground between the students and the emissaries. The teens are taking the chance to visit schools around America before beginning their military service. “Both me and Daniel are honored to be here
for our country. It’s something we’ve been waiting for: meeting new people, learning new things, and making new connections,” Gefen said.
By bringing their stories directly to the students and creating points of connection, the emissaries give students the chance to learn beyond textbooks and news reports. For many students, the visit gives them a new perspective. Rather than seeing politics or national conflict, the emissaries bring a human story that shares experience, conversation, and mutual personal interests.
Marcia Reinhard, assistant director of the The Jewish Federation of Eastern CT, introduced the program to ELHS in 2013. Reinhard met ELHS Modern World history teacher Matthew Laconti during a program called “Encountering Survivors,” where students were introduced to Holocaust survivors and their descendants.
“This [the emissary program] was an extension that I thought was worthwhile in exposing our students to something they wouldn’t otherwise see,” Mr. LaConti said.
Many students question whether or not the students in Israel are scared of serving. For most, the answer is usually no. They’ve had years of exposure to soldiers fighting to protect them, both of similar age as well as proximity. They look forward to the opportunity to take their turn.
Despite the restrictions, Daniel and Gefen encourage all engagement and questions. It is clear that they find much importance in teaching people about Israel, which can especially be accomplished by face-to-face interactions.
Additionally, the program has expanded to 10 schools all around Eastern Connecticut. Many goals are hoped to be accomplished regarding how students view Israel: “I hope when they leave they leave with a positive view of Israel, and maybe, their opinions will be changed in a positive way,” Ms. Reinhard said.
