I recently visited a kindergarten in Germany. One of the first, and most touching, requests I got from the children was that I speak to them in Hebrew. I was told later that they were taking a Hebrew course, and that their parents, who dont understand a word, found themselves learning Hebrew from their kids, of all people. This is perhaps the best example of the enormous significance Jewish education has in the Diaspora. Inside Israel it is easy to identify with concepts like Jew and Israeli we live among Jews and every Israeli feels that his or her very residency in the Holy Land, or service in its army, is enough to make them Jewish. In the Diaspora, when non-Jews around you believe in different faiths, you feel a certain degree of isolation and inevitably start searching for your roots. Questions surface immediately: How am I different from all those who go to church? Those who worship in different temples? A person then begins to identify with his or her roots, with origins and with Judaism. Jewish education abroad is extremely important. It is a well known fact that 90 percent of the individuals who dont attend Jewish schools and dont maintain some connection with the Jewish community will end up assimilating and marrying non-Jews. And we lose another Jewish family. Since World War II, we have lost more Jews to assimilation than we did in the Holocaust. Jewish education in the Diaspora is a life preserver for the future of our people. Additionally, anyone who wants to learn a thing or two about Zionism should visit a Jewish school in the Diaspora. Israeli flags adorn every corner and Jewish symbols, like the Star of David, abound. The students are well versed in Jewish history and geography and every day is like Independence Day. The teachers are clearly not there for solely the money, but are motivated by a sense of duty and of carrying out a mitzvah. Unfortunately, Israel haters have no scruples. They dont discriminate they hate Israelis and non-Israelis, adults and small children alike. The killings in Toulouse were a cruel massacre of innocent victims whose only crime was being Jewish.
