Originally published in Helios on Feb. 17, 2021.

This story won Second Place in the 2022 Jewish Scholastic Journalism Awards in the category: “Opinion: First-person opinion or first-person experience regarding Judaism, Jewish culture or identity, or Israel, or any Jewish or Israel-related story.”

JSPA Judges’ Comments:

A smart, thoughtful critique of a school program that focused on life for Palestinians; the piece convincingly explores how a lack of follow-up programing may explain why the school’s initiative didn’t resonate with students.