Students at Gann Academy in Waltham take action after attacks in Israel
WALTHAM - Gann Academy seniors Sabrina Strapp and Nadav Vorensztajn light candles for the people of Israel and lives lost in the horrific attacks by Hamas.
Seventeen-year-old Sabrina is thinking about both of her grandparents and aunt who live there. "It's been hard for people to focus because all we can think about is Israel and our community. It's nice that we have a really tight community here so we can check in on each other and we can be open and talk about what is going on," Sabrina said.
Nadav says both his brother and sister serve in the Israeli army and fears for their lives. "I never thought that this was possible where both my brother and sister moved to Israel that people would come knocking on his door to kill them," Nadav said.
Gann Academy is a Jewish high school in Waltham. Head of School Dalia Hochman says though far removed, the students at Gann are not sitting idle, instead they're taking action. "There's a real deep sadness here. We thought, how do we provide a space for our students to process their feelings, their sadness, their connections to loved ones," Hochman said.
Holding a school-wide assembly, singing the Israeli National Anthem, and giving students the chance to speak. "It also helps that there are other Israeli teachers here who also have family, so you know you are not alone," Nadav said.
They're writing letters and sending care packages. Twice this week, students mobilized at Logan Airport to send off Israeli soldiers. "We held up signs and it was just really meaningful to see how much it meant to them. It made me so grateful that I go to Gann Academy and have this community here who are willing to take action and want to make a difference and help support the people in Israel," Sabrina said.
School officials were alerted by law enforcement about the October 13 general threat against Jewish institutions worldwide, which is why they have additional police details on campus. "It brings me more comfort but in some ways it's a reminder that we need that police car for a reason, and that we have a reason to be scared," Sabrina said.
This summer Sabrina and Nadav were part of a senior summer trip to Israel. This week they learned their lead counselor Hersh, an American Israeli, was severely injured and is now being held hostage.
At Gann Academy the flags are lowered to half-staff, and all students and faculty are doing all they can to support their loved ones in Israel knowing things may get worse before they get better, but they are holding onto hope. "It's nice to have these opportunities as kids to actually take action and know that what we're doing can actually be helpful in some way to the people of Israel," Sabrina said.