Our students today have grown up in a fractured andabnormal world. They have experienced a global pandemic causing social isolation, heard about an invasion by violent terrorists, witnessed painful divisions within Israeli society,and lived through a long war, with screaming sirens and families evacuated from their homes. Along with other cities in Israel, Haredi cities like Bnei Brak, Beit Shemesh and Arad have been struck by lethal missiles.

Despite their apparent Haredi allegiance, the families of students and teachers in Netzach Educational Network schools are actively invested in the wider Israeli society. Many of them have sons serving in the IDF and Reserves; many of them have friends and family members who have been directly impacted by injury and loss. They have prayed for the hostages and attended the funerals of fallen soldiers, while witnessing the disconnection of the rest of Haredi society from this pain. They must struggle with this divided identity, witnessing violent protests in the streets, and arguments over military service and allegiance to community leaders in their homes and communities.

Today, we are all broken vessels. We all carry scars from the traumas of the past three years, but the Haredi world makes it difficult for us to........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)