This summer, Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy (HBHA) teacher Alexa Cohen embarked on a journey to Morocco as part of the Kivunim Fellowship for High School Teachers, a program designed to inspire educators and equip them with the knowledge and experiences needed to bring the Moroccan Jewish story into classrooms across North America.
From June 22 through July 4, Cohen joined 24 other educators from across the United States and Canada on a two-week study tour. The fellowship offered participants a chance to explore Jewish-Muslim coexistence outside of the framework of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, focusing instead on the long, intertwined history of Judaism and Islam in Morocco.
“Jews in Morocco predate the arrival of Islam. They are an indigenous part of Morocco’s history,” Cohen said. “What struck me most was how openly — and joyfully — people celebrated Jewish identity and heritage. It’s not the same to read about it in a textbook; to experience it firsthand was incredibly moving.”
Highlights included riding camels into the Sahara Desert at sunrise; visiting a 900-year-old synagogue maintained by the same Muslim family for generations; and sharing Shabbat meals with local community members. In Marrakesh, Cohen was surprised to find kosher restaurants, including an Israeli falafel shop staffed entirely by Muslim Moroccans.
One of the most memorable encounters came when the fellows met a university student who had helped establish a Jewish heritage club on his campus. Though no Jewish students attend the school, the club is made up of Muslim students eager to learn about Morocco’s Jewish roots.
“One of them told us, ‘I am part-Jewish because I am Moroccan, and Judaism is part of Morocco’s heritage,’” Cohen said.
For Cohen, who teaches both world history and Jewish history at HBHA, the trip offered rich content to bring back to her students. She also connected with Moroccan educators who teach Jewish history and Holocaust studies, a curriculum mandated by Morocco’s king and rarely found in the Muslim world. Cohen hopes to turn those connections into a cooperative program between HBHA students and their peers in Morocco.
“There’s a common narrative that Israel is safe for Jews, while the rest of the region can feel hostile to Jewish identity,” she said. “Morocco really challenges that paradigm. I felt safe and welcomed.”
The fellowship was made more accessible thanks to support from HBHA, which subsidized Cohen’s participation as a professional development opportunity.
“I’m so grateful HBHA prioritizes opportunities like this,” she said. “You can’t really know how transformative it is until you’re there, but it’s something I’ll carry with me always — and I know my students will benefit, too.”
HBHA Head of School Annie Glickman said that investing in teachers’ growth is beneficial for the whole community.
“When our teachers are inspired, our students are inspired,” Glickman said. “Alexa’s experience is a perfect example of the kind of meaningful, global perspective we want our students to encounter in the classroom.”
Cohen, who holds a Bachelor of Arts in linguistics from Yeshiva University, is both an HBHA alumna and a current HBHA parent of three students. For her, the fellowship was more than professional development. It was a chance to live history, build bridges, and bring back stories of coexistence that she hopes will resonate with her students for years to come.
