Dare to Be Different – A Response to Parkway

Last night (Oct. 28), Solomon Schechter Day School of St. Louis partnered with B’nai Amoona and Shaare Shalom religious schools in offering a program to support diversity and promote strong Jewish identity among Jewish Middle School students in St. Louis. Nearly 100 students and 45 parents attended this workshop, which included adult and student activities.

The program, Dare to be Different, offered children a glimpse into the various kinds of discrimination that other groups have experienced in American history, including the reality of anti-Semitism.

The program began as students broke into small groups to explore the experiences of several different minorities, including incidents of prejudice or intolerance that they have faced. Many students were surprised to learn that classified advertisements for employment in the 1860s sometimes declared “No Irish Need Apply” or that Chinese immigrants faced violent attacks in Los Angeles and Tacoma.

The reality of anti-Semitism in America was brought home by video clips from the 1947 film “Gentleman’s Agreement” as well as more recent photos of graffiti left on Jewish community sites.

The program closed with a brief set of exercises to empower children and offer them concrete ways of responding to discrimination of any kind.

While the student program took place, adults broke into a parent forum, led by Rabbi Allen Selis, headmaster of the Solomon Schechter Day School.

At the parent forum, Rabbi Selis praised the Parkway administration for responding promptly and effectively to the “Hit a Jew” incident, with support from the St. Louis office of the Anti Defamation League. Parents expressed a strong desire to see the community more coordinated in supporting diversity in the schools, a stance that St. Louis ADL Director Karen Aroesty praised.

Rabbi Mark Fasman of Congregation Shaare Zedek affirmed the community’s desire to build and strengthen our children’s Jewish identities as a way of enabling our next generation to be more secure and better equipped to engage their peers in an increasingly diverse world.

Following the program, Rabbi Selis praised Michael Raileanu of Shaare Shalom and Jennifer Newfeld of B’nai Amoona for their creativity and openness to working in partnership. “In moments like this, our entire community must stand together. I’m so pleased we have the leadership to make that happen.”

Rabbi Allen Selis - Head of School
The Solomon Schechter Day School of St. Louis