In light of the recent attacks on Israel that began on October 7, Ramaz has been figuring out ways to make an impact. One way Ramaz students are showing their support for Israel and condemning Hamas is by attending rallies.
The first rally that Ramaz encouraged students to attend was on October 10 outside of the United Nations. The rally was organized by the UJA Federation of New York. Many high-profile politicians spoke, such as New York City mayor Eric Adams. Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York also gave a speech condemning Hamas and announcing New York’s support for Israel. Another speaker was Ramaz parent Gilad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations. Over 12,000 people attended the rally, including Jews from all different sects of Judaism.
To facilitate students attending the rally, the administration changed the schedule to an early dismissal schedule. Before leaving together, the eleventh and twelfth graders came together to sing prayers and hear stories from students about their connections to people in Israel affected by the tragedies.
Senior, Aviva Weinstock ’24 was asked by Dr. Block and Rabbi Josh Lookstein to say Tehillim at the UJA rally. Weinstock ’24 said, “I still felt this sense of honor knowing I was up in front of so many people saying words of prayer and speaking to Hashem. Once I got on stage and saw how many people poured into the whole avenue straight in front of me it was really a surreal experience and moment.”
This past week, the school announced that another rally would be happening in the same place as the first one. The focus of the rally was to raise awareness about the hostage crisis. Hamas kidnapped over 200 people, including some Americans, and is holding them hostage. Ramaz students brought fliers with the faces of the kidnapped victims and held them up for much of the rally. Some students even hung them up around the city.
The administration highly encouraged all juniors and seniors to attend. Senior grade dean, Ms. Tamar Benus ’10, worked extra hard to ensure all seniors would attend without worrying about missing class. On Schoology, she wrote, “As 12th graders, we believe you are the leaders in the school. We have seen how well you have already risen to that role, and are excited to see you all at the rally tomorrow. Do not feel like you can not attend due to class reviews or quizzes. Your teachers and I are working together to find alternative times for these things to happen.” Some students still opted to stay in school to do schoolwork despite these accommodations.
The hostage rally had a significantly smaller turnout as Ramaz students, teachers, and parents were the majority of the attendees. While waiting for the rally to start the Ramaz students joined arm in arm and sang songs in unison. Manhattan Borough President, Mark Levine was among the local politicians who called for the freeing of the hostages. New York residents with family members being held hostage shared their stories. “Bring them home” was chanted repeatedly throughout the program.
G.O. president Raymond Ashkenazie ’24 was instrumental in making sure students attended the rallies. He told The Rampage, “I feel that I have that responsibility [to encourage students to go to rallies], but I think that we all have that responsibility. We all should be talking to our friends and our classmates.” Ashkenazie ’24 texted people individually asking them to attend and utilized social media to spread the message.
Many students attended both rallies and noted the difference between the two. Weinstock ’24 said, “The first rally gave me such a huge sense of unity within the greater Jewish community and New York City area, while the second one gave me a huge sense of unity within the Ramaz community because we all showed up on such short notice, singing and just coming together as a school.”
Regarding the UJA rally, Ashkenazie ’24 said, “Both rallies were incredibly important for us all to go to. The first rally showed me that the Jewish people are united. Regardless of whether you’re orthodox, conservative, reformed… we all came together at the brink of the terrible attacks.” The hostage rally had a different meaning for Ashkenazie ’24 who noted, “Without us it would have just been a press conference, but because we were there the news outlets reported it as a rally. It felt really special to be there specifically because there were so many local politicians there. I think it was an amazing Kiddush Hashem for us to be there and be involved.”
Activism is an integral part of Ramaz’s mission and these past two weeks have shown the lengths the students and administrators will go to facilitate it. While the circumstances are unfortunate, the Ramaz community is banding together and staying strong during this crisis.
