Building What Our Students Need | The Certificate in Israel Education
Posted on 01/02/2026 @ 10:23 AM
By Audrey Maman Bensoussan,
Director of Day School Programs and Services
There are moments when a community realizes that what once worked no longer does.
October 7th was one of those moments.
In the weeks that followed, we saw it clearly across Miami’s Jewish day schools: students were confused, educators were overwhelmed, and schools were searching for alignment.
Children worried about siblings in Israel, teachers were called back to reserve duty, and conversations about Israel — already complicated — suddenly carried enormous emotional weight.
At CAJE, we understood that this work — strengthening and enhancing existing Israel education with greater honesty, nuance, and complexity—could no longer be postponed or left to individual teachers to navigate on their own.
Our schools already teach Israel with care and pride.
The issue was how to ensure that students are prepared to engage with Israel’s full story, especially if they leave Miami, in a way that is developmentally appropriate, research-grounded, and supported by leadership at every level.
That ultimately led to the launch of Miami’s Certificate in Israel Education, in partnership with the Spertus Institute.
Watch the program presentation here https://youtu.be/OUvjVPHigXs
What We Learned from Listening
Our first response after October 7th was to convene a Community of Practice for Israel educators.
Teachers told us something powerful — and concerning...
They want to teach Israel with honesty, nuance, and depth. They want to answer hard questions and make space for complexity in their classrooms.
But many feel they can’t.
They worry about parent backlash, community criticism, and about losing their jobs.
One educator shared how a carefully planned role-play — meant to model critical thinking by temporarily presenting both a Zionist narrative and a Palestinian perspective — was met with intense parent reactions once students spoke about it at home.
The intention was education. The fallout was fear.
These experiences echo the research of Dr. Keren Fraiman, Vice President and Chief Academic Officer at Spertus Institute.
In her chapter, “Barriers to Entry: Exploring Educator Reticence for Engaging with the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict,” from Teaching Israel: Studies of Pedagogy from the Field (edited by Sivan Zakai and Matt Reingold), Dr. Fraiman identifies the primary barriers educators face when engaging with Israel education: gaps in knowledge, the emotional intensity of these topics in the classroom, and the significant pressure educators feel from parents, administrators, and the broader community.
In other words, teachers aren’t lacking commitment. They are lacking clarity, alignment, and consistent backing.
Why the Work Has to Start at the Top
For Israel education to succeed, it must be supported by shared understanding, clear leadership, and communal alignment.
Yet for years, schools and their teachers have often been left to navigate these challenges without a cohesive framework or explicit support from across their communities.
The Certificate in Israel Education is designed to change that.
Rather than starting in the classroom, this initiative begins with heads of school, senior administrators, and lay leadership — the people who set tone, policy, and boundaries.
When leadership is aligned, teachers can teach with confidence. When parents understand the school’s approach, fear diminishes. When expectations are clear across grades and departments, conversations become consistent rather than reactive.
This is not about dictating curriculum.
The certificate focuses on building shared language, research-based understanding, and leadership strategies that allow schools to stand behind their educators when difficult conversations arise.
Preparing Students for the World They Will Face
Dr. Fraiman’s research also challenges a long-held assumption: that shielding students from complexity protects them. In fact, the opposite is true.
Students who are taught only a simplified or idealized narrative of Israel often feel blindsided when they encounter competing perspectives later — on campus, online, or in social spaces.
Some disengage entirely, not because they reject Israel, but because they feel unprepared to reconcile what they are suddenly hearing.
However, students exposed to complexity earlier report they feel more confident, more emotionally grounded, and more authentic in their relationship with Israel. Nuance does not weaken identity, it strengthens it.
Much like any mature relationship, connection to Israel deepens when it is informed, honest, and resilient enough to hold both pride and challenge.
And these conversations are starting earlier than we think.
Even elementary-age students are absorbing information through social media, siblings, group chats, and background news. Waiting until high school — or college — is no longer realistic.
Why Miami, and Why Now
At CAJE, we believe our responsibility is to be proactive, not reactive.
Most communities do not have an organization that can think systemically about the entire school ecosystem.
We do — and that means building infrastructure before a crisis forces our hand.
Seven schools are participating in this first phase, representing diverse denominations, philosophies, and age groups: Hebrew Academy (RASG), Innovative School of Temple Beth Sholom, Lehrman Community Day School, Pardes Day School, Rambam Day School, Scheck Hillel Community School, and Yeshiva Elementary School.
Each school is represented by educational leadership and a respected lay leader, ensuring that this work is thoughtful, intentional, and sustainable.
Building for What Comes Next
This certificate is Phase One.
Phase Two will expand directly to educators, equipping teachers with the confidence, language, and support they need to bring this work into their classrooms.
As a Jewish professional, and as a mother of four children who have grown up in Miami’s Jewish day schools, this work is deeply personal.
I think often about what I wish I had when I first encountered hostility toward Israel — and about what our students deserve as they step into an increasingly complex world.
We cannot control the world our children will face. But we can prepare them for it.
And that is exactly what this Certificate in Israel Education and additional initiatives of CAJE’s Day School Department are designed to do.
For more information, please contact Audrey Maman Bensoussan at audreymaman@caje-miami.org or visit Jewish Schools and Educational Services.
