The excitement in Modi'in on Tuesday was the visit of Israeli President Shimon Peres. He was coming to visit, see the city and be greeted by officials and students. Since he was coming to the city hall which is directly across from Temple Sinai's match school, Idanim, the principal and now our dear friend Aviva Dvir invited me to join the first graders from her school when they greeted President Peres. I arrived at the school early and she and I headed across the street into the city hall. Both of us found it a bit unusual that there was limited security. Traffic was passing by on the street and there were no road blocks. We were able to enter the city hall where she introduced me to Alon, the man who was in charge of major programs such as this, parades and Yom HaAtzma'ut celebrations in Modi'in. When the 1st graders arrived he had a wonderful way with them.
Since we were early we went to see the head of the city department of education. Chaya Shitai. She was on the delegation of teachers to Rochester in December. She was excited to see me and then asked both Aviva and I if we wanted to attend a special session with Peres and high school students later that morning. She arranged for us to have tickets. I also was introduced to the Mayor of Modi'in Haim Bibas who invited me to come in to chat some time after all of this ruckus was over.
The students were all given Israeli flags to wave and were lined up along the wall on the side of the stairway leading from the street to the city hall. When President Peres arrived a trumpet was blown and he began ascending the steps. He greeted the children and shook hands with most of them. He even told one child to use the right hand not the left. He asked the kids to sing a Purim song and received a booklet they had prepared for him. As he passed each of the teachers he asked each one their name. As he came by me the mayor who was at his side said that I was a rabbi visiting from Rochester, NY. He shook my hand and then went on. At the top of the steps a mandolin orchestra from two other elementary schools played a piece and one of the city's chief rabbis offered a prayer.
An hour later Aviva and I went to the theater at the cultural center where Peres was meeting with over 500 high school students. Our tickets entitled us to sit in the third row. Students filled the majority of the seats and I must say they were very respectful and well behaved. It seems that Peres the politician has given way to Peres the President who has garnered much love and respect. There were some short speeches by Chaya, Mayor Bibas and a student representing a coalition of youth organizations. There was a short film about Modi'in and a powerpoint of some of the accomplishments of the youth and students of the city. For example, Modi'in has the highest percentage of youth who enter the IDF (the Israeli Defense Forces) of any city in the country. A singing group from one of the high schools, MOR-Re'ut, which happens to be matched with our 7th grade students, sang a song. Then rather than a straight speech from Peres a number of students had been chosen to ask questions. Since this all was happening in Hebrew I could not catch everything but was able to get the gist of much of it. Peres responded with a lot of praise and encouragement for the students. He told them of the tremendous potential they have. One phrase he used was well received when he said we need less teaching (probably referring to teachers who talk at their students) and more education.
Another question reflected a thought I had about his new status. How has he changed from a politician to the supreme statesman who sits outside the field of politics. Hi response was very thoughtful and thought provoking. He claimed that now that he is president his popularity rating has shot up. He is more beloved by people from various parts of the political spectrum. But then he mentioned that sometimes one needs to take positions that might not be as popular. He asked the question of whether it is better to be loved or argue your point of view? We may all ponder the answer.
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