Citron Online, a Jewish-affiliated speech and debate program, has officially qualified 26 students from 12 Jewish day schools, including Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy (HBHA), to the Centennial National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament, set to take place from June 16 to 20 in Des Moines, Iowa.
HBHA debuted in the world of competitive debate with the help of Coach Alexa Cohen. This year, HBHA’s first-ever debate team launched, and already, two of its students, Naftali Tilove and Eric Fine, were selected to compete on the World Schools Debate (WSD) team. WSD is one of the tournament’s most rigorous events and the only event with teams representing schools from all over the world.
“I am so excited to go to nationals in World Schools Debate,” said Tilove, an HBHA student and competitor. “It is a big honor to be selected as part of the team. I hope our team will make the community proud.”
Founded in 2022, Citron Online was chartered by the NSDA to create a competitive speech and debate space that is fully accessible to Shabbat-observant Jewish students. Most qualifying events for Nationals occur on Saturdays, historically shutting out observant students. Citron has broken that barrier; in just three years, Citron has provided to Jewish schools mentorship, coaching and a platform for students who previously had no path to national-level debate.