A Chanukah Message from Debbie Sasson and Dr. Kenneth Stein
For our annual Chanukah issue, we asked members of our community to share why they think it is so important for our Jewish community to, "Shine Our Light Bold and Bright."
Shine Our Light Bold and Bright
Light can be bold and bright. It can illuminate or do harm. Some sun is okay, too much causes pain. Same with words. With antisemitic comments flowing all too frequently in the recent past, without ready data to prove it, our assumption is that antisemitic acts, here and elsewhere, are correspondingly increasing with an uptick in harsh words against Jews. Words can burn; Hitler proved that as he engulfed an entire nation.
On the other hand, words from informed sources can be highly informative. Words can enlighten and undermine polemics.
At the Center for Israel Education, we shine our light on the history of Zionism and Israel, on content and context. We educate about Israel’s centrality in Jewish identity.
We believe that when one takes a minimal amount of time to educate oneself, enlightenment ensues. In the process, prejudices dissolve, intellectual muscle is built and shaped.
With April-May 2023 approaching as we celebrate Israel’s 75th year of existence, we continue to provide community programs in-person and online. More than 100 Atlanta-area Jewish teachers and, from them, more than 100,000 of Atlanta Jewish students have learned with us. Virtually every Jewish organization, congregation, and day school in the city has asked for more, and over 5 million users world-wide have visited our website. At CIE, content is king, not hurtful thoughts or polemical phrases. We are not passive about our objective to educate about Israel. We aggressively focus on Israel enrichment. We invite you to journey with us as we shed light on Israel’s origins and accomplishments; both will help to inform our collective future.
Debbie Sasson and Dr. Kenneth Stein are with the Center for Israel Education.
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