The Rampage The Newspaper of the Ramaz Upper School
New York • Volume 78 • Issue 2 • November 2015 • Kislev 5776 • the-rampage.org
Ramaz Responds to the Situation in Israel
Gabriel Klapholz ’17
The increasing violence and tensions in Israel have not gone unanswered in the Ramaz community. Recently, Ramaz seniors and juniors heard an important speaker from the Israeli army, Colonel Bentzi Gruber. Although Col. Gruber was invited many months ago, his talk coincidentally overlapped with a very problematic time in the state of Israel. In the last few weeks, terror attacks against Israeli civilians have increased significantly, sparking fear among Israelis and the worldwide Jewish community that the instability and violence will keep on escalating. Col. Gruber is the Vice Commander of Division 252, an IDF armored division of 20,000 soldiers. His organization, “Ethics in the Field,” is a non-profit that aims to reveal the truth about Israeli counter-terrorism policies, rejecting politically charged myths about how Israel protects its citizens. Col. Gruber discussed the meaning of collateral damage. He said that Israeli soldiers have
only eight seconds to make a decision whether to fire on an out-of-place civilian, who they think may be a terrorist, before
ist target if they are certain that civilians will die in the strike. Perhaps the most powerful part of Gruber’s talk was
ambulances, and smile before committing acts of religious martyrdom. Overall, Gruber’s talk presented the Israeli mil-
serious damage is done. According to Gruber, the Israeli army provides each soldier with a system on how to make these quick decisions. He also stated that Israel will not fire on a terror-
his revealing videos that provided undeniable evidence for certain terrorist phenomena. He showed a video of how Palestinian terrorists use children as human shields, hide out in UN
itary dilemma of dealing with the collateral damage resulting from eliminating terrorists. Later that day, the middle and upper school students met in the new KJ sanc-
tuary to hear an address from Rabbi Lookstein and daven Mincha (which was led by Benjamin Shiff ’16.). Among other things, Rabbi Lookstein encouraged the students to remain aware of the situation in Israel, to call their relatives and friends currently living there, to pray for the continued safety of Israel, and to give charity to help the cause. He informed the students that KJ is creating a fund for the children of Eitan and Na’ama Henkin, whom were murdered by a Palestinian terrorist in a drive-by shooting in front of their four children. “I think [the program at KJ] was necessary because it made the entire school aware of what is going on in Israel and how serious the situation is,” said Netanel Kamel ’18. “The get-together was important because we, along with many other schools, got to pray for Israel while being united.” The speech at KJ was a way for Ramaz students to feel part of a larger network and community that cares for Israel.
A Funny Thing Happened On The Way to the Fall Musical
Tess Solomon ’16 In mid-October, the fall musical abruptly changed from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The cast had been preparing for the production for several weeks when Mr. Miller decided that the show could not, in fact, go on. A Funny Thing Happened is a comedy musical that takes place in ancient Rome. Pseudolus, a slave, tries to gain his freedom by wooing a lovely neighbor’s courtesan, Phila, for his master Hero. The plot includes a pimp and several showgirls, while the two main characters are explicitly virgins. The New York Times wrote of
a Broadway production that it is “smart” and “buoyant,” but also “cheeky” and “brazen.” Mr. Miller said that the production was inappropriate, and “not just for a Jewish institution. Students and parents would have been uncomfortable with the premise. I was initially hesitant about approving the play, but if the students and faculty advisor want to put on a certain production, I try to accommodate them. But when it got time to make the changes I would have had to make, I realized it couldn’t be done.” Reading through it and taking out the more explicitly inappropriate parts “was my
intention,” said Mr. Miller. “As I read through it, though, I realized it’s not just an issue of rewriting.” Max Deutsch ’16, a cast member of the canceled play, said, “It’s not an easy thing to spend three weeks learning and getting excited about a play to then have to make a huge transition to a new play, new lines, new songs, new characters.” Mr. Miller agreed that he waited too long before pulling the plug. The situation raises more far-reaching questions than the ones about just this one play. Mr. Miller spoke about some of the prior Ramaz theater productions, such as Brighton
Beach Memoirs, 13 the Musical, Pippin, Into the Woods, and A Chorus Line. “Everything,” he says, “is [about] boy/girl [relationships]. It’s the standard premise of drama, particularly those put on in high schools.” In choosing a play, “I try to be respectful of feelings; we’re a very open school. It’s something I’m proud of. We need our productions to reflect the values of the school and also be artistically authentic.” The cast is concerned that choosing only school appropri-
ate plays opens up other problems. “Censorship determining which productions we can put on makes it extremely difficult for us to find a play that appeals to the kids,” Deutsch
said. “The drama department needs new recruits, because the vast majority of this musical is seniors. We need to put on a continued on page 3
Inside this issue...
Everyone’s talking—except the teacher? Ms. Litwack tests out the Harkness method page 4 To recycle or not to recycle? That is not a question A review of the new recycling policy page 7 Ramaz’s resident DJ Bennett Schwartz ’19 impresses students with his mixing skills page 8 New faces on the varsity basketball team Two notable seniors enter the fray page 12