Max Levy-Gedacht and Raphael Levy-Gedacht
Ezra Academy
8th grade
USA

Our poster is a collage made up of three main elements. The first element is a picture of Mount Rushmore, a national memorial featuring massive sculptures of four of the most impactful presidents--George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. Their faces are carved into the granite face of a mountain in South Dakota. Covering the faces of the presidents are four Zionists who were leaders of the movement that stood for a free Jewish state--Theodore Herzl, Chaim Weizmann, David Ben-Gurion, and Vladimir Jabotinsky. To tie the collage together, we added Israel’s national flower (the red crown anemone, or in Hebrew, the Calanit) and some of its native flora. wSince the founding of the country, Israel has maintained its core Ideals: freedom, justice, equality, and peace. Israel is, and has always been, a free country that believes in freedom. Freedom of speech, religion, and expression are all included in the freedom of Israel. Justice and equality is a promise given to all, no matter their background. For instance, if a Muslim Israeli is tried in court, they should, by law, receive the same treatment as a Jewish Israeli would. Israel has and still does maintain its policy of peace. From its birth, Israel has dealt with conflicts with various countries, but has always made attempts to find a way to achieve peace. Our poster is a commemoration to those who, like the four presidents on Mount Rushmore, contributed to the country they believe in. For those four men's actions to help create a Jewish homeland is something that all Jews are grateful for. The poster created by Ofra Barchihu-Kastner was the inspiration for our poster. We looked at the poster by Ofra Barchihu-Kastner, and thought: “Who are the people we should thank for the creation of Israel?”