An insight into the community
Around 150 students from Siena College in Melbourne’s Camberwell were given a firsthand insight into the Jewish community on Monday when they took part in the Jakob Frenkiel Connecting Cultures Program run by Zionism Victoria.
Michal Kaufman addresses students
The Year 10 students from the Catholic Girls School visited Caulfield Synagogue, where they heard from Rabbi Daniel Rabin, before heading to Beth Weizmann Jewish Community Centre for talks by educator Michal Kaufman on Women in Judaism and Holocaust survivor Peter Gaspar who shared his experiences of the Shoah.
The students also enjoyed a falafel lunch, visited the Lamm Jewish Library of Australia and watched a video about Israel aimed at countering the negative portrayal usually depicted by the media.
Monday also saw dozens of students from Gilson College take part in the Connecting Cultures program, visiting St Kilda Shule and the Melbourne Holocaust Museum.
Peter Gaspar delivers his talk
Earlier this month, Zionism Victoria arranged for 150 Year 11 Siena College students to visit Temple Beth Israel, the Jewish Museum of Australia and the Lamm Jewish Library for a talk by Michal Kaufman on Judaism and the Environment and to watch the Israel video.
Executive director of Zionism Victoria Zeddy Lawrence said: “It is always so rewarding to see how interested these young students from non-Jewish schools are in Judaism, Jewish life and Jewish history. Whatever we can do to promote tolerance, respect and understanding helps to break down barriers and, as the name of the program says, connect cultures.”
On Thursday and Friday of this week, the Zionism Victoria team will be among the exhibitors at the History Teachers Association of Victoria Annual Conference, showcasing Connecting Cultures. The visits and talks arranged by the program are specifically tailored to the Victorian and VCE curriculum.
