As a whole, the Ramaz community has taken many actions in supporting Israel, whether it be assemblies organized by the administration or initiatives from the student body. “We just knew that this was crazy and that we needed to react,” said Ms. Miriam Krupka, Associate Principal of Ramaz. At the outbreak of the war, the school did not know what they could do to combat this situation; they just knew that something must be done. Since then, the administration has organized events, invited speakers, joined an implemented fast day, and held full-school davening where Rabbi Haskel Lookstein ‘49 and Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz, the Head Rabbi of KJ, addressed the students. In addition to this, the school also held daily full-school minchas, accompanied by Tehillim and extra prayers for Israel. 

To encourage students to show up and support Israel, the school also made scheduled accommodations to allow all students to attend rallies after school alongside bringing them to rallies during the day. Additionally, throughout the school day, a room of Tehillim was available for anyone to say a prayer, and educational sessions with Dr. Lekht and Mr. Deustch were held to inform students about the current situation.

The school aimed to create a supportive atmosphere and make it easier for students to deal with the situation. They did this by having many available teachers and faculty for students to talk to and a focused advisory session for students to discuss their feelings on the subject. 

“The planning was only tough in the amount we wanted to do,” Ms. Krukpa said. Students, parents, outside organizations, and the school had many different ideas for approaching this situation. There were so many ideas and not enough time to execute them all, but as long as this conflict remains, the school will continue to show its support.

In addition to the administration, the students also played a vital role by planning different events and fundraisers throughout the past few weeks. They organized a drive to bring supplies for soldiers and write letters to them. Some students sold challahs to raise money for Israel, while the sophomore class sold bagels. Many students went around the city to hang up posters of the hostages, and many went to police stations to thank officers for their service.

Overall, the student body believes Ramaz did a good job dealing with the Israel situation. They appreciate the accommodations that were made and the opportunities that were offered. “The last twelve days have been unprecedentedly difficult. However, it is so empowering to see the students themselves take the initiative to make as large an impact as possible, even from across the world,” said Noa Essner ’25. Like many other students, she appreciates the school’s initiatives and the unity that came out of them. Essner goes on to say, “There could be more opportunities to learn about the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the war itself, but overall Ramaz is taking all the right steps to ensure that we are not passive, that we do not assume a victim mentality, and that most importantly, we always show up to demonstrate our fervent support for Israel.”