Israelis*In*America

Meira Peery, Educator: Israeli and Jewish Education

"I’ve been in Jewish education in Los Angeles for 40 years and every teacher that I was working with felt it is a mission."

Born in Jerusalem in 1940, Meira Peery lived in the Dead Sea area until the War of Independence, when her family moved to Jaffa and Tel Aviv. She attended Seminar Kibbutzim (teacher’s college) in Israel and served in the army 1960-62 as a teacher to immigrants. Peery arrived in LA in 1962. B.A., UCLA; M.A.University of Judaism.

What is the Herschel School and how are you involved with it?

I’ve been at the Herschel School for 28 years. I’ve been the director of the Hebrew department of the whole school and the Judaic department of the elementary school. Its a Jewish Day school. We have about 470 students and Hebrew and Judaica is an integral part of the curriculum um… I think that every teacher of Jewish education is a missionary.

I know from my experience that our teachers just love what they do and they think it’s extremely important. I‘m talking about studying the Bible or studying the customs and the ceremonies. When I used to teach in the fourth grade I felt, gosh, I have to teach them this and this and this, because next year the parents won’t have the money to send the child to school then, the only thing they will have is what I have given them … , so I really think it's a mission. I’ve been in Jewish education in Los Angeles for 40 years and every teacher that I was working with felt it's a mission and put their heart into it and it was important for her that the children would love what they learn.

What is the Ami school?

Fifteen years ago, I was invited by the [Jewish] Federation. – they thought that it was about time to have a school for Hebrew speaking students. The Iranians have a school… the Israelis… no one ever bothered to really do something about the Hebrew speakers here. So they interviewed me and they and they wanted me to write the curriculum.

I wrote the curriculum for the school for Hebrew speakers with a few goals in mind: one goal was, of course, to get the Israeli children closer to the Jewish community. Another goal was to provide them with a curriculum so that they will be able to understand entirely in the culture of their parents. And yet also so that when they go to the synagogue not to feel alienated or not to be able to participate in services and so on…

Would it have been a typical Israeli type of education ?

It cannot be typical because even the Hebrew speaker child here, his language is quite limited, it is an everyday language, but it’s not a rich language. You cannot teach a child that was born to Hebrew speakers at the age of eight, he speaks Hebrew freely, give me this, take me this, but when it comes to literature, to read a story, a lot of the words, the vocabulary, they are not familiar with. So in the interest of the children here is different than the mentality and interest of the student in Israel.

But we managed to write curriculum to reach the needs of those objectives that I mentioned. At one time we had three schools and I think the highest we got to was 120 students between the ages of 5 and 13.

I have to say that it was such a wonderful, wonderful experience. I learned to know more closely the Israeli community from different walks of life, and the love that they have for Israel … how important they think what we were teaching the kids was. When I think about the support that I got from the parents and the teachers and it was just a wonderful experience that enriched my life and I am very proud of it. So this Ami School still goes on. We have about … I don’t know … 55 students now, but its that's growing, which is nice.

Regarding Israeli and Jewish Education in LA, in general, how do you see its purpose, more specifically what would you say its priorities are or should be and what do you think are the challenges?

That’s a very big question, let me just take it one by one ...
Two things that come to my mind – you know right away number one is to continue our heritage as Jews… and to have the love for Israel. I think that every one of the students should be able to identify themselves with a Jewish community, and to be proud of who they are, and I think that the only way you can gain pride is with knowledge.

I tell my students always you have to know what’s going on. You have to read newspapers, you have to listen to the news. You know, if you don’t want another Holocaust, then you have to know, you have to be aware then you can try eliminate problems – if you know what’s happening.

What do you think are the challenges that Jewish educators face?

First of all, it’s extremely expensive to send a child to a Jewish day school., and not everyone can afford it and that’s why many, many do not go and we are missing. [We need to] make it more accessible. Definitely. I am sure that we would have many more if were not as expensive as it is.

What do you see the role of Jewish education in terms of the second generation Israeli Americans?

Same thing, know where you come from and it will lead you to go ahead and be proud of who you are, identify with your people, just care about your fellow Jews, and be respectful of other people – again, it comes with knowledge.

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