By Elie Babani, 10th Grade

Each year on the 5th of Iyar, Jews all over the world celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut.

Recently, I have become involved in a StandWithUs program called TLC, which stands for Teen Leadership Council. With my TLC coordinator, we felt that there is no better day for me to express my feelings about Israel to my fellow Derech Emunah students than on Yom Ha’atzmaut.

This year, as in the past, Derech Emunah was proud to acknowledge the importance of Yom Ha'atzmaut and invited me to make a presentation about the significance of the day.

I asked the students to bring their Chromebooks so they could take part in my interactive program. I opened my presentation by asking, “What does Yom Ha’atzmaut mean to you?” I was trying to help my classmates see that this beautiful day of celebration can mean different things to different people. Two of the most common answers I received were “Israel’s Independence” and “IDF."

In my presentation, I spoke about the connection between Yom HaZikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut, how Israel became a Jewish state, and the Israeli War of Independence that followed recognition of statehood by the world. Everybody was very involved and listened intently.

Everybody appreciated the message that Israel is an exceptional country and understood why we should feel so blessed to have a Jewish homeland.

To end with a bang, I gave out cool StandWithUs swag.

This was followed by a special treat - a falafel lunch prepared by Mrs. Cohen, Miriam Condiotty, and Atara Scott-Thoenes.