This week, as part of the Israel Layers Project, juniors and seniors had the privilege of hearing from Dr. Israel Singer. Dr. Singer is the former secretary general of the World Jewish Congress and the former president of the Claims Conference. He is also the grandfather of Head of STEM Aryeh Laufer. Dr. Singer spoke about his decades-long work to secure restitution for the victims of the Holocaust. As an academic and activist, he emphasized the necessity of taking a strong stance and remaining fully committed to one’s cause, in order to restitute for past misdeeds and stop present-day wrongs.

The students are actively working to design this project that will come to life in an interactive way at The Idea School’s Winter Exhibition of Student Learning on January 12, at the Kaplen JCC. The 11th and 12th graders started laying out the interactive map they’re building—a look at shemita, the laws of inhabiting the land, biblical views of Israel and explorations of modern and contemporary Israeli history and culture.