This Week's Article

The article that I read this week was about a demographics problem that Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman insists that the Jewish people are having. It discussed several things, but the one that stood out to me was his belief that sending children to Jewish schools will fix the problem. It is true that Jewish schools undeniably give Jewish children sorely needed information about their religion, and many come out of the schools much more knowledgeable than most. However, I can also say from personal experience that many people get turned away from Judaism through their experiences at Jewish day schools. I won't go into detail, seeing as people's religious feelings can be a very personal thing and not my secret to tell, but I can say this. In my experience, the huge onslaught of Jewishness that is forced upon a child all at once, all the time, for years, that comes with going to a Jewish day school, is part of what disillusions people. It makes being Jewish seem like a chore. In my opinion, as opposed to funding Jewish schools, people should be funding fun and informational yet not forceful programmes for children, in order to incorporate them into the Jewish community without pushing it.