Flatbush, NY – Every so often, Aalim Moody, 5, and his twin sister, Aalima, break into a kind of secret code, chatting in a language their father does not understand.
Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
Walking along Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, they make out the lettering on kosher food shops and yeshiva buses, showing off all they learn at the Hebrew Language Academy Charter School in Midwood, where they both attend kindergarten.
Ask Aalim his favorite song and he will happily belt out:
“Eretz Yisrael sheli yaffa v’gam porachat!” – My land of Israel is beautiful and blossoming! – and then he continues in Hebrew:
Who built it and who cultivated it?
All of us together!
I built a house in the land of Israel.
So now I have a land and I have a house in the land of Israel!
Aalim and Aalima are not Jewish. They worship at a mosque affiliated with the Nation of Islam. But at the Hebrew Language Academy, they fit right in.
When state officials approved the school, critics wondered whether it would become a publicly financed religious school masquerading as a place open to everyone. And after a battle for space, it landed in a yeshiva.
This is bad. They’re imposing religion on children. Semitic languages such as Hebrew and Arabic shouldn’t be taught in charter schools as they are to closely correlated with religion. Both children have Muslim names and are talking about “my land of Israel.” A language like Spanish would be more helpful to these children.
I am speachless. This is good? This will kill our children… judiasm without god
Keep in mind that they evicted a Bais Knesses in order to get their current location.
Muslims growing up friends with Jews. This is good.
This is funny. The other day I was listening to the radio stream of a NY Jewish talk show and listeners were calling in recommending פסוקים to use for a new music composition. Half the people could not pronounce their פסוקים correctly. I think they should be teaching Hebrew (by that I mean לשון הקודש) to Jews, not Gentiles!
“Students are just as likely to learn about Christmas or Ramadan as about Purim, and teachers say they check with the school’s lawyers before veering into any lesson with ties to Judaism.”
I’m so glad the Yeshiva’s board kicked out a shul that was there for 50 years to make room for this. They removed the mezuzos, Aaron Kodesh, and put Christmas trees in the windows this past winter. Not to mention the Rambam Yeshiva that will completely disappear in a year or two as well as they rent the rest of the building to HLA for the $$$. Heartwarming.
this is your tax dollars at work we pay so much in taxes and get nothing for it and pay a fortune for tuition
There are a few visionaries in academia and politics and rabbis like Shmuley Boteach who advocate inclusiveness and building positive relations through early education with the non Jewish world to fight antisemitism and to achieve peace. These kids are the future generation of parents, teachers, voters, and leaders. They will have positive attitude for Israel, respect and understanding of Jewish history and will know the basics of a language that will connect them to Israeli society. Some of the Muslim kids in the class will have a positive impressions on Israel and when they grow up, they will be more open minded.
This is nuts! What else can I say? I guess they’re not teaching Loshon Hakodesh and Modern Hebrew has no kedusha, so it’s a language like any other, but why the interest in learning Hebrew any way? With all the Muslims in the world, one would think they’d rather learn Arabic.
That song is communist. how can they allow NYC schoolchildren to learn about the secular Israeli communists?
the song continues, “I built a house in Eretz Israel, so WE have a house in Eretz Israel.”
With all of the nonsense about Shulamit, a number of frum parents are considering sending their kids here if they will be accepted. Can you imagine?
what’s that kid with the kippah doing there. he should be learning with a rebbi where he candevelop a love of yiddishkeit. Big mistake sending a precious Jewish child to a school like that.