The Rampage The Newspaper of the Ramaz Upper School
New York • Volume 68 • Issue 4 • March 2024• Adar 5784 • the-rampage.org
NENATZEACH BEYACHAD
Inside This Edition...
All About The New Test Policy
Pg. 2
GRACE KOLLANDER ’25
All about New Librarian
Pg. 3
All About The Annual Dinner
Pg. 6
All About The New Photography Magazine
Pg. 7
A personal reflection on the months since October 7
Pg. 8
Following finals week, Ramaz sent a group of students to represent the school on a “chizuk” mission to Israel. The Ramaz students, each accompanied by one parent or guardian, departed for Israel on January 28 and stayed in Jerusalem at the Inbal hotel until returning to the U.S. on January 31. Along with Ramaz faculty and administration, fifty-five people in total united for this meaningful experience. The mission’s itinerary was jam packed, ensuring that the Ramaz team made the most of their limited time in Israel. Upon returning back home, these Ramaz students will serve as ambassadors to spread the messages they learned, stories they heard, and atrocities they learned about. Ramaz recognized the importance and extreme value to our community and students taking this initiative to support our brothers and sisters in our Jewish homeland. As Dr. Block expressed before she departed, “I am thinking about the power of this mission and the importance of what we are hoping to achieve. I have no doubt it will be awe inspiring and meaningful.” The school’s aspiration was that the trip would be a transformative experience, making a positive impact on both the people of Israel and our own community. After a long flight, the mission began with an alumni dinner at Beit Avi Chai in Jerusalem. According to Jesse Rubenstein ‘25, one of the students on the mission, “It was crazy and especially meaningful to get together with the Ramaz alumni community in Israel. Seeing all the alumni showed me that no matter where I am in life or in the world I will always be connected to the Ramaz community.” The keynote speaker that evening was Ramaz alumni Glenn Cohen ‘82, who Rabbi Haskel Lookstein affectionately referred to as the “Iceman” for his heroics on the basketball court. After graduating, Mr.
Cohen moved to Israel and joined the IDF where he served for many years and was a decorated air force pilot. Mr. Cohen was also the chief psychologist of the Mossad and is the country’s leading expert on hostage recovery negotiations. He provided us with valuable and painful insight into what was happening with our hostages still being held against their will in Gaza and how to manage the mental state of those fortunate enough to have been released from brutal captivity. We finished the evening by gift wrapping toys to be distributed to children in Israel. The first day of activities began on Monday morning at 7:45 am with the Ramaz group hearing from the former head of the Ramaz Middle School, Dr. Beverly Gribetz. Dr. Gribetz explained how she was called on by the government after October 7 to create a learning curriculum for the displaced children and how she established makeshift classrooms for replacement learning while schools were shuttered. In some cases, Dr. Gribetz made arrangements with nearby schools able to onboard additional students dealing with the complexities of transportation and other challenges. Following that talk, the group traveled to the Yeriam Hotel in Maale HaHamisha to hear a harrowing story about the events of October 7 from a survivor of the attack on Kibbutz Zikim. The speaker’s husband was one of the volunteer security personnel that protected the Kibbutz from an onslaught of Hamas terrorists when it was attacked that morning. The group then traveled to volunteer its services and provide needed agricultural labor to a local farmer. The farmer’s Thai workforce had mostly returned to Thailand after October 7, leaving fields of crops unpicked or unplanted for the next harvest. Next, the group heard from a member of United Hatzalah to learn about the remarkable rescue work they do in Israel every day, and the important role Hatzalah volunteers -
Jews and non-Jews - played on October 7 in saving as many lives as possible. To finish off the already full day with an act of chesed, the group packed boxes filled with necessities to send to the chayalim. The second day of the mission began with a vatikin minyan at the Kotel, allowing the group to reflect on the heaviness of the prior day and to give thanks to G-d for many things, including prayers for the state of Israel and the safety of our soldiers. Upon returning to the hotel, we met with the parents of Hersh Goldberg, a brave young man taken hostage from the Nova festival. The Goldbergs made aliyah from Chicago making it easier to identify with their background. Mona Dweck remarked that Mrs. Goldberg “was able to compose herself, and when asked how she does it, she explained that while she wants to cry and collapse on the floor all day, she has to bring awareness, speak to leaders, and do what she has to do to bring Hersh home.” Mr. Goldberg encouraged everyone to write a letter every day to the President of the United States imploring the administration to prioritize the safe and immediate return of hostages. The group then traveled to Hostage Square, located in the public plaza outside the Tel Aviv Art Museum and in the shadow of the building headquarters of the Israeli equivalent to the Pentagon in the U.S. In Hostage Square, the group explored the exhibits and visited in tents with affected family members and tried to provide comfort wherever possible. The group then gathered in the center of Hostage Square where it came together for music and singing led by Mona Dweck on the piano and Rabbi Ritholtz on the guitar. The group had the opportunity to sing a somber rendition of yom huledet sameach for a hostage whose birthday was that day and the family was at Hostage Square for comfort. CONTIUED ON PAGE 2