By Ilanit Schwartz
Yeshivat AMIT Eliraz in Petach Tikva recently opened its doors to the students participating in the pilot program that brought together 10th-graders from the AMIT school and two other schools, one secular and one Arab, to gain a deeper understanding of different groups within Israeli society.
The 60 students gathered at the yeshiva on Sunday, April 7, and were welcomed by Principal Yair Chetbon, who said he was excited to be hosting the students and emphasized how important it is for them to be listening and learning about one other and exhibiting patience and tolerance toward each another.
Over the course of the two-month pilot program, the students were asked to upload stories to Instagram about different subjects: food, music, hobbies, and religion, among others. Once a week, each class—led by student admins—would discuss the similarities and differences they discovered from their peers’ Instagram stories. That way, they got to know each other and find out what they have in common as teenagers living in Israel.
The entire group met in person twice—once at the Facebook office in Tel Aviv and for the second time at the AMIT school.
The program is the brainchild of Lior Halifa and Ruth Raveh, two students in the educational leadership and administration master’s program at Tel Aviv University.
“We believe there is a burning need to change paradigms and prejudices [in Israel] and that youth are the target audience for this,” they wrote. “We believe in the importance of reflective, practical learning combined with the use of technological tools and see Instagram as a visual social network that breaks the language barrier. It serves as an excellent technological platform for getting to know one another better and changing points of view.”
Eitan Gerby, 15, and Rom Cohen, 16, served as the program admins at Yeshivat AMIT Eliraz, leading the discussions and ensuring their classmates uploaded their Instagram stories and followed directions for their tasks.
Both students said the program taught them a lot about how Instagram works, but more importantly, about tolerance. Both boys said the program showed them that Arabs are not just “enemies” and they appreciated the opportunity to meet and talk to them.
“It opened our eyes and we got to see that they are kids just like us and we even share some of the same interests and hobbies,” said Rom.
Both boys said that the few encounters in which they got together as a large group were not enough and they would have enjoyed and benefitted from additional face-to-face meetings.
