Eighth Graders Hold a 20th-Century World Zionist Congress

The eighth grade history classes showcased their research and public speaking skills at the Eighth Grade Annual World Zionist Congress! In this mock congress, students pretended that it was the early 20th century and wore a formal dress code to enhance their experience imagining the setting. It was the culmination of two months of school learning, in which the classes studied different Zionist ideologies. In smaller groups, students also intensively researched an assigned form of Zionism (Political, Religious, Cultural, or Labor). Each group prepared and presented a speech at the congress about why their ideology was the best approach to Zionism and our "future" state; then, they asked each other questions on the spot and debated. Often, students even spoke on behalf of real historical figures in their respective movement, such as Theodor Herzl, Rav Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook, and A.D. Gordon, which allowed them to further deepen their understanding of the various perspectives that different thinkers offered.