The IDC

ileft the interview with DAniel
ginDis lOOking fOr A cAse, Any cAse,
tO Argue. it wAs inevitABle: tO
sPeAk tO ginDis is tO Be insPireD ABOut
the Art Of DeBAte AnD sO much mOre.
One of this year’s co-presidents of the Raphael Recanati
International School (RRIS) Debate Club, Gindis is not
only a walking, talking promotion for the Debate Club, he’s
an example of how doing what you love to do can change
your life. And that’s just what the IDC Debate Club did for
Gindis. “Debate is a wonderful thing,” says Gindis. “It
gives you more than you can quantify or measure.”
A self-proclaimed talker, Gindis, now in his third year at
the Sammy Ofer School of Communications (naturally),
joined the Debate Club because it sounded both fun and
educational. However the experience turned out to be even
more valuable that he had imagined. “Debating has made me a more
effective person. when i listen to what people say, i now know what
they actually mean, which is something that goes far beyond the art
of debate – debate is just the doorway to these skills. Besides that, I’ve
gotten to spend time with great people and make good friends, and I’ve
learned to write down my thoughts in a more clear, concise and structured
form,” says Gindis.
Now entering its fifth season, The RRIS Debate Club, led by Gindis and copresident
Adam Grunewald, has had amazing success for a club so young.
One of its greatest achievements came during the European debating
championship, when RRIS debater Yuval Biggs won 18 th place out of 350
speakers. In national competitions, the club won both the 2007 English
language open and the 2008 English juniors, and has reached the finals of
practically every English speaking debate competition.
One of the reasons for the club’s accomplishment is Coach Uri Zakai, Israel’s
most successful debate coach. Zakai, a former European championship
finalist, also coaches the IDC Hebrew Language Debate Club. According to
Zakai, no other club in Israel compares to that of RRIS: “The RRIS club is
a unique debating club in Israel. It’s the only one that is composed mainly
by exchange students and new immigrants. They are required to battle the
intricacies of logic and speech as well as learning how to appeal to their
Former RRIS debater, IDC graduate
Yuval Biggs, who won 18th place
out of 350 speakers at the European
debating championship
uP fOr DeBAte
Israeli adjudicators - in essence practicing debating
in English while taking into account the rhetorical
characteristic of the Hebrew speaking population around
them.”
Israel is the home for some of the most prestigious and
competitive English speaking teams in Europe, and
so the RRIS Debate Club frequently welcomes Israel’s
Hebrew speaking clubs, whose members wish to practice
debating in English before competitions. There are also
jousts with a number of international debate clubs who
come to lock horns and meet their Israeli counterparts.
Getting by on minimal funds, the club is eager to find
sponsors for events, which would allow them to compete
more in the international arena.
According to Gindis, most people have the wrong idea
about what debate actually is: “Debating is not just
learning how to argue, where you do whatever you can to get your message
through. It is actually the opposite – it’s a logical, reasoned structuring of
your case.”
The Debate Club also offers students a chance to hone their personal and
professional skills and develop new ones. For some it offers a chance to
face one’s fear of public speaking. For others it offers training in how to
instill content into one’s arguments. Says Zakai, “The RRIS is a fascinating
meeting place of cultures and rhetorical styles, and the club is cherished by
its members, who stay in it years after getting their credit out of a desire for
the game and a burning love for the art of rhetoric.”
For Gindis, it enabled him to structure his mind and develop a fundamental
skill he will take with him for the rest of his life. “It’s more than technical
knowledge – you don’t need to know much about the subject you are
arguing, but you need to understand its value, which is essential to human
communications. Now, when I speak with someone, I can hear what they
are really talking about and reach the crux of what they are saying, and
therefore respond in a way that speaks to them. So the value of debate is
that it’s something you can take out with you into real life and apply it.
Debate has helped me to become a better listener and therefore a better
communicator.”
– Joy Pincus
Debate
“the rris is A fAscinAting meeting PlAce Of cultures AnD rhetOricAl styles, AnD the cluB
is cherisheD By its memBers, whO stAy in it yeArs After getting their creDit Out Of A Desire
fOr the gAme AnD A Burning lOve fOr the Art Of rhetOric” – Uri Zakai, RRIS Debate Club coach
IDC Winter 2010 > 51