Picture this. You are a parent in Gaza, and you send your child to preschool. “Bye, sweetie!” you say lovingly. Your bright-eyed curious son or daughter is off to school. Another day where they will learn how to count, make friends, play with Play-doh, take a field trip to watch Israeli hostages get released as a jeering crowd gathers around you, learn chants about the Intifada, drink some apple juice, have a snack and go home. Normal, right?
Recently I’ve noticed a disturbing trend among children’s media influencers, particularly the wildly popular YouTube star Ms. Rachel. While concern for children in war zones can be admirable (as she shares on her media pages), there’s a deeper issue being ignored: the systematic indoctrination of Gaza’s children into hatred. An educational crisis if I ever saw one. When influencers share Hamas propaganda and selective narratives about victimization, they overlook how these same children are being deliberately taught to celebrate violence, see martyrdom as the ultimate reward, and make it their life’s mission to obliterate their Jewish and Christian enemies. This brings me to a searing question: How do we break the generational chain of hatred that poisons innocent minds?
The Hebrew Bible speaks directly to this issue. “Chanoch la’naar al pi darko”
In this week’s portion of the Bible that we read over Shabbat, we learn how God gave the Ten Commandments, including “Honor your father and mother”.
This isn’t just about respecting parents – it’s about the sacred duty of parents and teachers to be worthy of that honor by transmitting truth and morality to the next generation. The portion’s name itself – Yitro – reminds us that the ability to recognize and teach truth can transcend background and prejudice. Moses’ father-in-law Yitro, though from Midian, was able to acknowledge truth and even teach wisdom to Moses. This is what real education does – it opens minds and hearts rather than sealing them in hatred.
When Hamas places weapons under preschools and holds hostages in tunnels underneath children’s bedrooms, they aren’t just using children as human shields (although that is in of itself bad enough!). They’re doing something far more insidious – they’re teaching those children that hatred is normal. It’s routine.
That violence is acceptable.
That another people’s pain is cause for celebration.
The Hebrew word for education, “chinuch,” shares its root with the word for dedication, “chanukah.” True education isn’t just about filling minds with information – it’s about dedicating hearts to truth and goodness. The Bible tells us:
The Hebrew word used here for “teach,” “v’shinantam,” literally means to “sharpen” or “pierce.” Real education should pierce through layers of prejudice and hate.
What’s happening in Gaza’s schools isn’t education – it’s indoctrination. Martyrdom is taught in place of multiplication and textbooks erase Israel from maps. On a daily basis teachers (who moonlight as terrorists) erase Jewish humanity from these children’s hearts.
That’s why the silence – and worse, the active spread of misinformation – from children’s entertainers like Ms. Rachel is so deafening. When you claim to care about children but ignore the systematic abuse of education to perpetuate hatred, you become complicit in that abuse. When you uncritically share Hamas’s casualty numbers and narratives to your millions of followers, you’re not just misleading parents and educators who trust you – you’re amplifying the very propaganda machine that puts Gaza’s children in harm’s way. When you weep for children under bombardment but stay silent about children being taught to bombard others, you’re not protecting children – you’re protecting the system that endangers them.
The Bible commands us to “not hate your brother in your heart”.
It doesn’t say “try not to hate” or “hate less.” It gives an absolute command because hatred is a choice – and it’s a choice we teach our children to make or reject.
The path forward isn’t complicated, but it requires courage. We must make sure that educational institutions – from preschools to universities – actively combat hatred rather than enable it. We must insist that organizations like UNRWA be held accountable when their schools use textbooks that erase Israel or glorify violence. We must challenge the deafening silence of children’s influencers who pick and choose which children are deserving of the public’s tears. And we must remember what the Hebrew Bible teaches us about education’s sacred purpose – to build up, not tear down; to create understanding, not foster blind hatred.
Here’s the truth: When we teach children to hate, we don’t just corrupt their present – we steal their future. And that’s a form of child abuse that no amount of Play-doh or apple juice, or children’s youtube programming can disguise.
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