Jonathan Joppe - IJC storyteller, puppeteer and HS school teacher

Jonathan Joppe started teaching at the Hebrew School in Sept 2021. Before that, he had already shared his skills as a storyteller and puppet performer with the community. He once performed the story of the Golem for example.

From the very beginning he wanted to develop his own lessons. Being a storyteller, these lessons were illustrated with stories from beginning to end. His main subject was teaching Jewish values. He talked with the older children about forgiveness, sharing, honesty, and helping others and much more. Many an open-hearted discussion took place during his lessons.

With the development of his lessons, he was a pure perfectionist. He was not happy until everything was just so, and nothing was left to chance. Because it took so much time, he decided to give just one lesson a month, and yes, he worked a whole month on a single lesson! And that started to be a bit much, as his other skills as a puppeteer required his attention. Jonathan would not be Jonathan if he didn’t heed the call.

He is now working on a puppet/storytelling project about a Jewish family in his hometown of Zierikzee, during WW2, who were ordered to leave and go to Amsterdam. Only the father and a daughter survived and returned. The mother and other daughter were murdered. He is going to tell this story in the primary school he attended as a child. This school visits the monument for the Jews that were deported from there every single year. Not only that, but the children from year 6 clean the stumbling stones in the process.

And he is going to perform in the exact same classroom where he was taught and stimulated to develop his theatre skills by an enlightened teacher.

Jonathan is now retiring from his role as HS teacher. But he wants to continue to tell stories with puppets, and hopefully the IJC will to continue to enjoy his creativity!