Debate

The debate tournament and, more importantly the training leading up to it, provides essential skills and tools for junior and senior high-school students. Amal has always believed in the importance of debate and initiated the Amal Debate Program in 2005.  For the last five years, Amal has collaborated with the Ministry of Education and the U.S. Embassy in the implementation of Israel’s National Debate Program in junior high schools throughout the country.

 

The U.S. Embassy-sponsorecd National Debate Program was successfully implemented in collaboration with the MoE and Amal during the 2023-24 school year in 130 junior high schools nationwide, despite unprecedented challenges encountered relating to the ongoing security situation and the events of October 7, 2023.

This year, for the first time, the Ministry of Education was unable to allocate funding for the program.  Its matching budget (one hour per week for participating schools) was redirected to cover expenditure incurred as a result of the many evacuated schools and evacuees (extra tuition, books, etc.)   A large number of schools left the National Debate Program either because they were evacuated, or because there were insufficient teachers available to run the program due to the war effort, or because they were unable to compensate the teachers for their time as a result of the above-mentioned budget cut.

All involved are currently awaiting the Ministry’s impending decision regarding matching for the upcoming 2024-25 school year and Dr Tziona Levi is making every effort to reinstate the budget of one extra hour of teaching for schools participating in the program.

We are very hopeful that the war will end, that the evacuees will return home and that we will be able to resume the standard number of schools participating in the program.

      

        

    

“A debate competition for 9th graders on the ‘Iron Swords’ war and world opinion regarding Israel was held at the beginning of June 2024.  The competition was an initiative of Amal Lady Davis Junior High Tel Aviv with the aim of promoting awareness amongst youth of Israeli advocacy abroad, while simultaneously improving their debating skills and level of English. The event marked the end of the school year and took place at the Entrepreneurship Center in Lady Davis Senior High  with the participation of 3 other schools, Ben Gurion Junior High in Herzliya,  Herzog Junior High in Holon and Tichonet Junior High in Tel Aviv.  Unusually, the competition was held in the experimental and innovative format of a press conference. The Lady Davis team reached second place and 9th grade Lady Davis student Luka Goren won the  competition trophy for outstanding speaker. Congratulations to the winners.”

 

 

Amal has always believed in the importance of debate and initiated the Amal Debate Program in 2005. 

It was developed by Amal’s English Department with the aim of fostering greater tolerance for the viewpoints of others.  It brings together students from different sectors of Israeli society and gives them the opportunity to discuss a variety of topics in a thoughtful, creative and respectful manner. The debate tournament and, more importantly the training leading up to it, provides students with essential skills and tools and helps develop logical and critical thinking. The program improves students’ overall fluency in the English language and in particular their ability to communicate in spoken English.  Implemented in Amal schools since 2005, the program includes a series of workshops and culminates in a final debate between students.

The program is partially funded by the United States Embassy (Tel Aviv) and is carried out in cooperation with the Israel Debating Society.