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THE UPDATE CAN BE FOUND AT THE BOTTOM OF THE STORY

During a ceremony at Herzlia Middle School in Cape Town last Thursday, two pupils knelt in protest during the playing of Hatikvah, the Israeli national anthem.

The pupils, who are in grade nine, have set in motion a fierce debate, with some lauding their bravery, and others calling for the school to take strict disciplinary measures against them.

GroundUp have the story:

The two grade nine students “took a knee” when the Middle School Vocal Ensemble began to sing Hatikvah. It is quite common for Herzlia events to include the singing of both the South African and Israeli national anthems. It was also not unusual in the past for students opposed to the school’s Zionist stance to either sit or stay silent during the singing of the Israeli anthem.

Following the ceremony and the learners’ protest, an email was sent by the school’s Director of Education Geoff Cohen, to all parents. He wrote that kneeling during the schools’ “formal and prestigious event” was “inappropriate” and “demonstrated deliberate and flagrant disregard for the ethos of the school”.

He described the students’ actions as “blatant flouting of the School Rules, Herzlia’s Zionist values and the values of Herzlia’s Menschlichkeit [humanity] pillar”.

Cohen went on to write that the school does not take issue with “an individual pupil’s right to question or hold an opinion which differs from the mainstream ideologies of the school” but rather “the time, place and manner in which such views were displayed…”.

Herzlia is taking disciplinary and “educational” action against the students. GroundUp asked Cohen to clarify what the “disciplinary and educational” actions would be, but had received no response by time of publishing.

As mentioned earlier, the incident has sparked huge debate, and in that sense, the two pupils may feel that they have succeeded in their aim.

According to a voice note from one of the boys that has been circulating on WhatsApp, which we have listened to, their reasons are clearly laid out.

Below is just a general gist of what was said:

• They felt that they were being forced to stand in support of the Israeli anthem, and because the pupils don’t agree with what the Israeli government is doing in relation to its treatment of Palestine and its people, they ‘took a knee’.
• They cited the NFL kneelers, who aren’t disrespecting America, but rather trying to initiate a discussion.
• Herzlia as a school has a big problem with the restriction of information. Teachers will say that they don’t restrict the pupils’ freedom of speech, but inside classes, when the teachers teach, they only teach one side of the story.
• A teacher might say its OK to talk about pro-Palestine ideas, but they are only going to teach pro-Israel ideas. Unless the pupils make a concerted effort to learn outside of school, when they think about what is a Palestinian person, they think of the other, or a terrorist.
• The boys hope that because of their protests, students and members of the community will understand that a pro-Palestine person is not some “other”, but can actually be somebody they know and respect from within their own community.
• Their protest is strongly connected to a huge divide in the Jewish community based on politics, which is divided along pro-Palestine or pro-Israel. Nobody talks about it because of the divide, and this anger means no dialogue.
• Every time something like this happens, the Jewish community reacts with anger, and any discourse is shut down. Something like this forces people to talk about these issues, and once it dies down people who share ideas might be closer to the ‘middle’ and understanding opposing viewpoints, rather than the discussion being some taboo, or evil and insidious thing that divides the community.

Again, that is a brief paraphrasing of a lengthy voice note, but we have covered the basics.

More from GroundUp:

Daniel Linde, a lawyer with Equal Education Law Centre and a Herzlia alumnus, told GroundUp that that he had “much admiration for the Herzlia pupils who bravely knelt during the the singing of Hatikvah at prize giving.” He said he was “disappointed but not surprised at the public admonishing of them by the school.”

It seems obvious to me that pupils who are prepared to take a stand (or a knee) for what they believe in should be applauded. Educational institutions should be trying to raise young people who are informed, pay attention to the world around them, and exhibit moral conviction, even when they know the backlash won’t be pretty.

Then again, as the pupils in question have made clear, this particular topic leaves almost no room for meeting in the middle, and debate around the topic almost always ends acrimoniously.

It’s just a sad state of affairs when two young men (aged 15) are doing more to foster healthy debate than many with far more years under their belts.

UPDATE: Herzlia sent a response, which has been added below in its entirety:

United Herzlia Schools (UHS) acknowledges the incident that occurred during the Middle School Prize Giving last week, and would like to stress that UHS emphasises respect and dignity for all. UHS is an academic institution that strives to develop critical thinking as part of its educational offering. 

The school leadership took action to investigate the matter by engaging with the two pupils and their parents, and resolved the issue amicably. We have listened to all our stakeholders and most importantly our pupils. The school is committed to moving forward with ongoing support to all parties. 

We are fortunate to live in a country with a progressive constitution that allows for people to express their diverse opinions. This should always be conducted with respect for the dignity of others, including those who wish to participate in the school’s traditions and heritage.   

While we welcome freedom of speech, we would encourage this to take place in a constructive manner, allowing our students to express themselves openly and without judgement. UHS is committed to developing further safe spaces to facilitate this. 

United Herzlia Schools is mindful of the diverse opinions in our community and do our best to uphold an inclusive environment within our schools.

[source:groundup]