The 55th International Bible Contest for Jewish Youth 5778
A report on the 55th annual International Bible Contest for Jewish Youth (Hidon ha-Tanakh), held in Jerusalem on Israel's 70th Independence Day. Ezriel Shilat of Hatzor Haglilit, a former Gaza Strip settler evacuated in 2005, won the title over runner-up Oriah Cohen of Haifa, in a final round of sixteen contestants drawn from Israel and seven other countries. Adler describes the contest's format — video-question rounds, pre-contest tours of biblical sites, and meetings with government leaders — and the organizations, including the Jewish Agency and the IDF, that sponsor it each year.
The 55th annual International Bible Contest for Jewish Youth (Hidon ha-Tanakh) took place in Jerusalem on Israel Independence Day with the participation of young contestants from a number of countries and 4 from Israel who scored highest in the local Bible contest for Israelis. Ezriel Shilat, 16, a resident of Hatzor Haglilit in the north and a yeshiva student at Shomria in the south, took the title in the final round on Thursday, Israel’s Independence Day, in Jerusalem. He was among the settlers removed in 2005 from the Gaza Strip when Israel withdrew. The runner-up was Oriah Cohen, a student at the B’nei Akivah girls’ high school in Kiryat Motzkin, a suburb of Haifa, and a resident of Haifa. Shilat and Cohen were among four Israelis to reach the final round of 16 along with three Americans and Mexicans, two Australians and South Africans, and one each from Panama and Argentina. Israelis typically win the quiz, although a Canadian won in 2014 and an American tied with an Israeli in 2013.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was on hand for the competition held annually on Independence Day. This year the nation is celebrating its 70th anniversary.
The classic Bible contest traditions were maintained. In the first round of the contest every one of the sixteen contestants are asked a question via short educational films, a procedure which has been the practice now for several years. Also, as every year, before the contest itself all the contestants are given tours of the country to sites connected with the Bible, a day on an army base and visits with various government leaders such as the Prime Minister, Education Minister, and President Reuven Rivlin.
The annual Hidon is sponsored by several organizations including the government’s Education Department, the IDF, the Jewish National Fund (Keren Kayemet) and the Jewish Agency. Jewish communities around the world are urged to prepare pupils for local Bible contests in communities where they are held or to prepare pupils privately so that they can become future participants in the international Hidon. Pupils may study the Bible either in Hebrew or in their native languages. During the written exam in Israel and at the Independence Day contest there are always translators for anyone speaking a language other than Hebrew.
Joshua J. Adler, formerly Rabbi of Chizuk Emuna Congregation in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, has lived in Jerusalem since 1972, and is the Chairman of the Jewish Bible Association.
Cite this article
Joshua J. Adler. "The 55th International Bible Contest for Jewish Youth 5778." Jewish Bible Quarterly 46, no. 4 (October – December 2018): 270–271.
Joshua J. Adler. "The 55th International Bible Contest for Jewish Youth 5778." Jewish Bible Quarterly, vol. 46, no. 4, 2018, pp. 270–271.