School Mural Marks Israel’s 50th Year

It began in October as a pencil sketch drawn on the east wall at Valley Beth Shalom Synagogue in Encino.

Eight months later, through many days of El Nino-generated rainstorms, the students of the graduating class of the synagogue’s Hebrew school are in the midst of putting the finishing touches on what has become a 15-by-40-foot mural celebrating Israel’s 50th anniversary.

“I enjoyed watching it all progress, from a drawing on a dull gray wall to something that has come to life,” said student Lauren Elan, 13, of Tarzana, one of 60 students to work on the project.

The mural will be unveiled during the school’s graduation ceremony Sunday, said Neal Schnall, principal at Valley Beth Shalom Hebrew School.

“I am extremely pleased with the results and really proud of the kids,” Schnall said, as he admired the nearly completed mural.

Designed by Schnall and the school’s art director, Yafa Saghian, the mural features 50 doves arrayed across a blue background with the Israeli flag at the center, and portraits of five historic Jewish figures to the right.

The Jewish figures are: David Ben-Gurion, the first prime minister of Israel; Eliezar Ben-Yehuda, who is considered the father of the modern Hebrew language; Chaim Weizmann,, the first president of Israel; Golda Meir, the country’s only woman prime minister; and Theodor Herzl, who is considered to be one of the fathers of modern Zionism.

The doves, Saghian said, “are a symbol of Jews all around the world who are searching for peace.”

For student Danielle Warner, 12, of Woodland Hills, the mural will serve as a lasting legacy.

“I can come back here 20 years from now with my kids and say ‘I painted that letter over there’ or ‘I painted that dove,’ ” Danielle said.

Another student, 13-year-old Evan Orenstein of Sherman Oaks, said he will miss painting during rainy days. “It made it harder, especially when the paint started to drip, but it was a lot of fun,” he said.