11 Milken Community School students hospitalised after violent confrontation with Israeli teens during Independence Day celebration in Tiberias.
“I think it was really complicated for them, that it was Jewish Israelis… the from-afar version of a country is very different than when you’re in it.” — Sarah Shulkind, Head of School
TIBERIAS — A celebratory school trip to Israel turned harrowing for eighth-grade students from Milken Community School after a violent encounter with local Israeli teens during Yom Ha’atzmaut festivities sent 11 students to the hospital.
What began as a joyful evening on a Tiberias promenade quickly spiraled into chaos Wednesday night when roughhousing with shaving foam escalated into a physical confrontation.
According to Sarah Shulkind, head of the Los Angeles-based Jewish day school, a group of Israeli teenagers approached Milken students “in an aggressive confrontational manner,” ultimately chasing them and attacking with pepper spray.
“Ten of our students were sprayed,” Shulkind wrote in a letter to parents. “In two cases, our students were also pushed, punched, and kicked.” Police reportedly responded and identified the assailants, though the Tiberias police department has not commented publicly.
The incident unfolded as the 75-student group participated in Israel’s Independence Day celebrations, designed to deepen their connection to the country through authentic experiences. Yet, Shulkind acknowledged, “authenticity” came in a form no one had anticipated.
READ ALSO: 9-year-old autistic child Kendrix Brehmer drowns during recess in Nebraska school
The students, part of an immersive programme meant to expose them to modern Israeli life, had already commemorated Yom HaZikaron with Israeli peers and visited Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square. But the painful reality of a war-weary country surfaced on the festive promenade, leaving them with more than just cultural insight.
“This was terrifying at moments,” Shulkind said, praising the students’ resilience. Some helped rinse out each other’s eyes with milk to counteract the pepper spray; others offered comfort and support amid the panic.
The confrontation comes amid a tense and exhausted national mood. With the Gaza war reigniting and tensions with Hezbollah in the north keeping civilians on edge, Israel is steeped in anxiety and trauma.
Shulkind acknowledged that the local teens who initiated the attack may have carried invisible scars of their own. “These are kids who potentially lost family, or had family displaced, or homes destroyed,” she said.
Tiberias, though distant from the horrors of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, has endured 18 months of intermittent rocket fire from Hezbollah, forcing repeated evacuations and sheltering.
Last year’s Milken Israel trip was canceled due to the war. This year’s was meant to be a reaffirmation of connection and support. “We came as an act of Zionism,” said Shulkind. “To experience Israel for all of its wonder and all of its pain post-Oct. 7.”
For the students, the lesson was sobering. “I think it was really complicated for them, that it was Jewish Israelis,” Shulkind reflected. “And what an interesting experience for them to understand that Israel is a complicated place, and the from-afar version of a country is very different than when you’re in it.”
Despite the trauma, all students were released from the hospital and are continuing their trip with added security — and, no doubt, deeper perspective.
