Ferd & Gladys Alpert Jewish Family Service has announced an expansion of its acclaimed Relationships & Decisions teen education program, thanks to a $20,000 grant from the Palm Beach County Center to Combat Antisemitism & Hatred at the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County. The funding will enable Alpert JFS to deepen its investment in Jewish teens across Palm Beach County — empowering them with the tools, confidence, and empathy to confront antisemitism, bias, and hate while fostering resilience and leadership rooted in Jewish values.
The new curriculum will help teens recognize, understand, and respond to antisemitism and hate, building on the program’s existing focus on healthy relationships, empathy, and bullying prevention. Participants will take part in a specialized education and training process to develop new, relevant lessons addressing bias and discrimination.
As part of this initiative:
Stand With Us, an international, nonpartisan Israel education organization, provided participating teens with a virtual training focused on ten ways to fight antisemitism.
Last month, the Mobile Museum of Tolerance offered an immersive learning experience titled Ordinary People focused on ordinary people doing extraordinary things, how to address upstanders and bystanders, and more.
“Our young people are the moral compass of our community,” said Dr. Iris Kiner, licensed psychologist and director of Jewish Community Connections and Clinical Student Training at Alpert JFS. “Through this expansion, we are helping teens not only recognize and respond to hate, but also lead with courage, compassion, and a sense of responsibility for others.”
“These programs have changed how I see myself and my role in my community,” said Deanna Schwarzberg, an eleventh-grade student at Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach. “I feel safer, more confident, and better prepared to speak out.”
