Last Thursday, at lunch, a student-organized peaceful rally was held on the lower quad, inviting all CHS students to join together to support Israel during their time of war.
The rally was organized by CHS senior Morgan Sax and junior Lia Sher. The idea for the rally emerged from a shared love for Israel and a desire to vocalize concern towards the war.
“Israel… is very important to me,” said Sax. “I really wanted to make a difference and I realized that we have such a big Jewish and Israeli community at Calabasas.”
Inspired to do more, fellow CHS senior Hayley Vorobiof and junior Noa Aizenberg furthered the initiative of the demonstration by creating different opportunities for attendees to show their support for the Israeli army.
Aizenberg demonstrated how attendees could send a letter to a member of the Israeli Defense Force to share encouragement overseas.
“It’s special to my heart just to let everyone know that… we will get through this,” said Aizenberg. “I just wanted to show my appreciation to the Israeli soldiers.”
Vorobiof also led a booth called “Anything’s Welcome,” where blue bracelets were given in exchange for any donations that would be sent to “Save Israeli Soldiers,” an organization which sends money directly to the IDF.
“[The profits] are going to ‘Save Israeli Soldiers,’” said Vorobiof. “I just think it’s really important for everyone to be [knowledgeable] of what’s going on in Israel and one of my really good family friends’ organization is called “Save Israeli Soldiers” where he donates a lot of money to the IDF to help them. It’s super important to be super aware of what’s going on and try to influence everyone at school [to donate].”
The rally saw a great turnout from students in all grades. During this rally, many students withdrew from their typical lunchtime activities in order to participate.
“I’m missing my lunch to be here because this is more important than an hour or two of [hunger],” said Rubel. “This is representing my people, my family [and] my friends in Israel. This is more important. This is a noble cause.”
Rubel then explained why being active, even from a distance, is so significant to those in Israel.
“It’s not gonna have as much physical impact, it’s more about the principle of it, of having all these people that are aware and that are supporting the cause,” said Rubel. “Even though it physically won’t help the situation, it’s good to have people supporting spiritually… People in Israel are not used to having support from the rest of the world, so it’s really nice for them to finally have all of this support.”
Some students came to relay love and strength to their relatives, who are caught in the midst of the Israeli-Palestine conflict.
“This is important to me because I have a lot of family affected by this in Israel,” said senior Liron Azura. “Just the Israeli community and I coming to support and show that to Israel [is amazing].”
Some students came to the rally hoping to provide emotional relief for those struggling with the effects of the conflict.
“I wanted to show support and be there for everyone,” explained senior Ella Shapiro.
Those running the rally believe that the event was a success, they continue to campaign for peace and a more unified society.
“The power of unity is incredible,” said Vorobiof. “This was a beautiful reminder that when a community comes together as one, we are able to create a huge impact together.”
