A team of Israeli high school students is among the winners of the international debate tournament at Yale University.

An Israeli debate and knowledge team earned global recognition this month at the prestigious World Scholar’s Cup competition held at Yale University in the United States. The team from Ehad Ha’Am Middle School in Petah Tikva, led by Vardina Oss and coach Yaffa Gluska, the 15-member team represented both their city and the State of Israel among 2,500 students from 64 countries, including Australia, Indonesia, the United States, Qatar, Hong Kong, China, India, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, Germany, the United Kingdom and France.

In a celebratory closing ceremony where the Israeli flag was raised before the international crowd, the Israeli team claimed a series of top honors. They won third place globally in the Team Challenge category, placed third overall worldwide and secured first-place wins in debate and other academic areas. Altogether, the team took home 10 trophies and numerous gold medals.

The students, who trained intensively for over six months in advanced-level academic English, competed against native English speakers in debates, writing and subject challenges. “It was incredible to represent Israel and our school at such a high-level competition,” said student Ori Tovis. “Sitting with over a thousand students from around the world during the awards ceremony and seeing our names was an amazing feeling.” Another participant, Yael Literat, added, “Every day was full of excitement and unforgettable experiences. Seeing all our hard work pay off made it completely worth it.”

Student Neri Alon described the intense anticipation during the awards: “When they start counting down the rankings—1,000, 500—you worry, ‘What if I didn’t make it?’ Then your name appears, and it's a huge relief. And when we finally got the group trophy in the most prestigious category, it felt like all our preparation was truly worth it.”

Coach Gluska expressed pride in the team’s success and the warm reception from other delegations. “This competition is proudly non-political, and the support was mutual,” she said. “Given the current sensitive climate, we traveled with security, though thankfully it wasn’t needed. There was something special about being Israelis in this competition. In other events, Israeli teams sometimes face rejection, but here we were welcomed — and that was deeply moving.”

Nina Fox