Israel’s back-to-school debate: Yellow shirts or white? Parents clash over hostage solidarity

As the last days of August ticked away, Israeli parents found themselves embroiled in an unexpected and heated debate. WhatsApp and Facebook groups, usually abuzz with back-to-school excitement, instead became battlegrounds where the question of what color shirt their children should wear on the first day of school ignited passionate discussions.

Traditionally, September 1 is a day of celebration in Israeli schools, marked by the sea of white shirts worn by children as they embark on a new academic year. The white shirt, a symbol of purity and new beginnings, has long been a cherished tradition, signaling the joy and promise of the school year ahead.

But this year, something was different. An initiative encouraging students to wear yellow shirts – yellow being the color of the hostage release campaign since the October 7 massacre – has thrown the start of the school year into turmoil. The initiative, led by the National Parents’ Leadership, aims to turn the first day of school into a powerful statement of solidarity with the hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.

What was intended to be a unifying gesture has instead exposed deep rifts within Israeli society, with parents, schools, and municipalities divided on how, or if, children should participate.

Differing approaches

In Petah Tikva, the municipality embraced the yellow shirt initiative with full enthusiasm. It began distributing yellow shirts to thousands of students across the city well in advance of the school year’s start.

City leaders believed that this visible display of solidarity would not only raise awareness but also strengthen communal ties among students, emphasizing the importance of national unity during these challenging times.

Mayor Rami Greenberg expressed pride in the initiative, highlighting it as a potent reminder of Israel’s collective commitment to bringing the hostages back home.

“This is a strong and important reminder of Israel’s unity and the return of the hostages,” he said, noting that the city stood united in this cause and that he was proud of the students for their involvement.

However, other municipalities took a starkly different approach. In Ashkelon, the city’s education leadership made headlines by banning students from wearing yellow shirts on the first day of school.

Parents in Ashkelon received a message stating, “The city’s education leadership currently prohibits any decision regarding a yellow shirt on Sunday... everyone is in white on Sunday.”

This decision shocked and angered many parents who had been eager to participate in the national movement.

The directive sparked accusations of political motivations behind the ban. However, city officials defended it, claiming it was intended to prevent trauma among children. Despite the ban, the Ashkelon Municipality announced that it will still place yellow balloons at school entrances as a symbol of awareness for the hostages.

The response from parents has been equally divided, with opinions as varied as the colors at the center of the controversy. Some parents supported the initiative, viewing it as a crucial expression of solidarity during a time of national crisis.

Others, however, were fiercely opposed, perceiving it as an inappropriate politicization of their children. This sentiment was poignantly captured in a social media post by poet Maya Tevet Dayan, who criticized the use of children as symbols for political causes.

“I’m not willing to have our children used as ‘pawns’ for political purposes,” she wrote, adding that she will be keeping her daughter home on the first day of school to avoid participating in the initiative.

The controversy has sparked heated debates on social media as well, with parents from both sides expressing strong emotions. In Petah Tikva, a mother expressed her support for the initiative, emphasizing that her children will wear yellow shirts as a sign of solidarity not only for the hostages but also as a reminder to the captives’ families that they are not forgotten.

In contrast, Freidi Margalit from Hod Hasharon, who opposes the initiative, argued that the yellow shirt symbol has become a political statement, akin to the yellow badges worn during the Holocaust. Margalit stated that she refused to allow her daughter to be part of a political act, even one intended to show solidarity with the hostages.

Whether dressed in yellow or white, Israeli students will enter the new school year on Sunday with a heightened awareness of the struggles that the nation is facing, such as the ongoing fight to bring their fellow citizens home.