Aliza Braier

The Yom Hashoah assembly is an example of how Jewish significant events are brought to our attention, while September 11 falls by the wayside

As I walk into school on Sept. 11, I expect a somber mood, similar to days such as Yom HaShoah or Yom HaZikaron. Instead, I am met with upbeat moods from my classmates and teachers, with practically no discussions in any of my classes about the historic and tragic day. 

Additionally, while there was a brief moment of recognition on the loudspeakers during ZK, I was shocked to find out there was no ceremony or assembly as hosted in previous years to memorialize the significance of the day as a school.

This led me to question why we, as a school, memorialize some days of remembrance while completely neglecting others. I am so grateful that our school takes time to remember tragedies within the Jewish community, such as the assemblies to commemorate Oct. 7, but it doesn’t make sense to me why we don’t put that same effort into national catastrophes. 

After all, JDS is a Jewish day school, but we are also in America, and 9/11 was an event that affected many of the teachers, along with students’ families. I don’t see why we couldn’t have taken an extra 30 minutes of our day to commemorate the thousands of American deaths. 

9/11 was the deadliest terror attack in world history, and it completely altered the course of American life. According to the Pew Research Center, in August 2001, 50% of U.S. adults said the country “changed in a major way,” a number that increased to 61% in 2011. 

Not only do I feel we have a moral responsibility to memorialize this tragedy, but we also have an educational responsibility. I felt that the lack of discourse about 9/11 in my classes was upsetting. If JDS students aren’t able to become educated on the topic at school, where will they learn the information from?

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, more than 100 million Americans are too young to remember the 9/11 attacks, making it even more crucial every year that we take the time to memorialize the tragic events. Just as we want the world to remember the terror attack on Israel on Oct. 7, we must do our part to remember 9/11, and not allow the day to go unrecognized and treated as any other day. 

Not only do we have a duty to remember the tragedies of 9/11, but also the unity and resilience that the Americans showed. Next year will mark 25 years since the event, and I hope there will be a memorial ceremony at school. Together, we must make sure this tragedy is never forgotten.