Teen Gambling

Teenage gambling is not a new phenomenon. It has probably existed longer than schools. However, there is a growing sense among the Ramaz community that student gambling has reached a concerning level.

On Tuesday, January 31, the students of the Ramaz Upper School were welcomed headfirst into second semester with an exciting surprise: a visit from the former Prime Minister of Israel, Naftali Bennett. Prime Minister Bennett joined the juniors, seniors, and administration in the auditorium for the assembly, in which he addressed the importance of embracing Zionism as Modern Orthodox Jews in America, among other interesting topics pertaining to his service as Prime Minister. Prior to the assembly, PM Bennett agreed to meet with the three of us editors to discuss issues relating specifically to journalism and the media, considering the current spike in antisemitism.

At the assembly with juniors and seniors, Ari Porter ’23 sang Hatikvah before Mr. Cannon introduced Prime Minister Bennett. Before students began asking questions, PM Bennett advised students to make Israel a part of their lives by taking a gap year in Israel and even joining the Israeli Defense Forces to protect Israel.

To commence the Q&A period, Raymond Ashkenazi ’24 asked if PM Bennett believes there is a place in Israel for moderates and Modern Orthodox Jews. PM Bennett responded that Judaism is all about debate. “Israel is going through a very polarized period right now,” said PM Bennett. Though many political groups in Israel are in dispute with one another, there is value in debating and making compromises. It is important to remember that the wide range of political parties in Israel are patriotic and all care about human rights.

PM Bennett is known for leading the first coalition to include Arab parties, and Eliza Binstock ’23 asked whether this compromises our Jewish iden- tity. PM Bennett discussed the complexity of having a minority included in the government since some Arabs do not wish for the state of Israel to exist. PM Bennett’s journey to becoming Prime Minister was unique: after many consecutive elections, Israel was torn apart in riots. It would have been easy to enter another election, though Israel would take a huge blow. “[This was the] toughest decision of my life, [to] break from my political base…and do what is good for Israel,” said PM Bennett. This compromise led to many previous supporters calling him a traitor. “I would do the same thing today..but it is [a] complication…we need to embrace the Arab voices...that want to be a part of Israel.” Even as a right-wing politician, PM Bennett believes that this was the correct approach.

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WANTED: A Principal for the Upper School

As of September 2021, Ramaz began the search for a new principal of the Upper School after the departure of Rabbi Shlomo Stochel. On December 2, 2021, Head of School Jonathan Cannon forwarded an email to the Ramaz community highlighting this objective. Ramaz planned to accomplish its goal with the help of a 12-member Search Advisory Committee, a senior management team, and a range of national and international job postings, networking, and a nationally recog- nized educational search firm. Mr. the community, explaining that despite plans to announce the new hire before the semester break, they had not been successful: “Since September, we have pursued candidates on multiple fronts and interviewed several promising prospects who ultimately did not prove to be the right match for our school...As a result, we are casting an even wider net for candidates and increasing the time frame of the search, and I remain confident that we will identify an exceptional leader for the Upper School.”

According to one student who wished to remain anonymous, fantasy football is not the problem. What gained the school’s attention was the poker games and regular sports betting that students participate in on a daily basis. Dr. Zeitchik, Director of Ramaz Guidance, feels that the issue has passed a tipping point. “Gambling has reached a critical mass. This issue has existed for years but it seems over the last two years the school has become more aware.” Rabbi Bodner, Masgiach of Ramaz, also expressed growing concern on this issue. “I am very troubled by this issue, not only from a school wide point of view, but also on a more minor level. Gambling is wasteful and shows a disregard for the hard work people put into earning their money.”

Ramaz is grappling with this issue using a two-pronged approach, addressing it with both the parents and the students. Rabbi Bodner mentioned that the school cannot just tell the students they should not gamble, but rather the school needs to teach the students an appreciation for money. Dr. Zeitchik noted that the school and parents have to work together as a partnership on this issue. The school can only monitor so much and it’s up to parents to make sure their kids are living up to school and community ideals at home. Dr. Zeitchik also said that “parent culture is perhaps also betting.” If parents also see the importance of this issue, they are more likely to model the proper behavior.

The school addressed the parents and are now planning on addressing the students. Ike Dweck from the Safe Foundation, an addiction treatment center based in Brooklyn, will be coming to school on or around February 20th for an assembly that will address gambling. In an effort to give students a religious perspective on gambling as well, the school added the topic of gambling and ribbit to the gemara curriculum for eleventh and twelfth graders.

For Parents’ Night, Dr. Zeitchik conducted an anonymous survey. Students were asked long answer questions on their feelings regarding gambling and who is partaking in gambling activities. According to Dr. Zeitchik’s survey, the common consensus among students is that the boys do the majority of the gambling. According to Dr. Zeitchik, while it’s the boys gambling for the most part, it still impacts the girls.

On February 7, 2022, Mr.