By Adam Stone

When Aleph Bet kids learn about Israeli history, they are getting it right from the source. Teachers and parents who have lived in Israel help the students to get a first-hand picture of ways in which past times have a present influence.

Instructor Hava Anderson guides the upper grades through time, drawing from her own experiences as a college student in Tel Aviv and Haifa. When she talks to the fourth graders about maps, she knows the roads. When fifth graders study influential personages throughout Israeli history, she can speak directly to the influence those leaders have had.

“Judaism is based there, it started off there, and knowing the history helps to give them a connection to Israel, a love of Israel,” she said.

Anderson’s favorite period? The post-1967 era. “Jews from all over the world came to support Israel in the war, and it showed what can happen when Jews come together. It shows the we can still help Israel, even though we are not living there.”

Head of School Nan Jarashow sees the historical component as a vital part of the Israel curriculum, which weaves together diverse components of the nation’s life and culture. The life of the early settlers, for instance, is tied to the geography, which in turn sparks discussion of the ancient sources of the holidays.

“Through both ancient and modern history, and the interaction between the two, we want them to feel a connections. We want them to feel that it is the land of their ancestors and also to recognize that for modern Jews this is a homeland, a place where we all belong,” she said.

The message is driven home by the involvement of Aleph Beth parents with a personal experience of Israel. Ilanit Evers for instance spent the first 15 years of her life there and still returns frequently. As a parent volunteer at Aleph Bet, she brings that personal understanding to cooking classes, dancing lessons and, let’s face it, a lot of chauffeuring.

“What they learn in school is sort of Israel from afar, so by having Israeli parents there, it gives them a little something closer to the true Israel, the way we do things there,” she said.

The net result of all this history, both personal and academic? “It gives them a true love of Israel, a sense of being also adopted,” Evers said. “They identify in a way that makes them proud to be a Jew.”