This is a story about a group of students from a low socio-economical background who turned their frustration and feelings of discrimination into an empowering experience. This is also a story of many individuals that care enough to spread out the message and help these kids to achieve their goal.
Last weekend, Yair Lapid ran a story in Yediot Achronot and ynet, a story which describes the frustration of his students in a Jaffa high-school, from not being able to afford an educational trip to Poland and the termination camps. This trip complements the studies of the holocaust events and is attended by many of their cohorts who come from a higher economical background. As their appeal for support to the Ministry of Education was ignored, they decided to bring their case to the public attention by issuing an Internet petition, with the goal of achieving 100,000 signatures.
I myself am not a great fan of these trips to Poland, however, I fully sympathize with the students that undertook an action to show that they can have an impact. I am closely following the number of signatures that at the time that these lines were written reached 73,796 and is still increasing by hundreds per hour. It is obvious that without the backing of a figure with such high public visibility as Yair Lapid, they would not have reached these numbers. Still I am always glad to see that the Internet plays a role in the empowerment of the weak members of our society.
I wish the students success in achieving their goal.
An update: three days later: 114,000 people signed the petition. Well done !!
