In the weeks leading up to the Israeli elections on Tuesday, November 1, politicians from the various Israeli parties were traveling through Israel, speaking to voters, debating with other politicians, giving interviews on radio and TV and presenting the case for voting for their party.

Uncharacteristically, one of the many forums for this nationwide debate took place in Bergen County when the Moriah middle school hosted a candidates forum for Israeli Knesset members to make the case for their party. On Thursday, three Knesset members and one aspiring Knesset member (who is also a former Knesset member), spoke to the middle school students about their party’s vision for Israel and responded to questions by middle school students. The program was enlightening and fascinating and the Moriah students were honored to be given so much time by Knesset members at such a busy time in their careers.

While an Israeli political candidates forum taking place in Bergen County for hundreds of participants who aren’t Israeli or old enough to vote is surprising, it was the brainchild of Rav Adiel Mhazri, the new shaliach at Moriah. Rav Adiel was the chief of staff for the Religious Zionist party before coming to Moriah. His work in the Knesset allowed him to create relationships with Knesset members from across the political spectrum. Rav Adiel plans to bring other innovative and exciting programs to the school to enmesh the students in Israeli culture, politics and intellectual thoughts. Middle schoolers are looking forward to continuing the conversation about the upcoming election in the next few days and the school is excited to have its very own elections next week, paralleling the elections in Israel, where students will have the chance to vote from the four political parties they learned about. Everyone is looking forward to seeing the results!