Gabrielle Soffer Cohen Teaches English at Israeli High School

Gabrielle Soffer Cohen received a certificate of appreciation on Teacher’s Day at ORT Motzkin high school. She has lived in Israel for seven years. She arrived in Tel Aviv alone in 2019 with a degree in visual arts and psychology from Hunter College and nine years of real estate experience.

She enrolled in a Hebrew ulpan at Tel Aviv University. Two nights after the program began, she met Asaf Cohen at a neighborhood bar. They married in May 2020 and have two sons, ages two and five.

Cohen’s mother told her about a free teacher certification course at Kibbutzim College of Education. She completed the course and began teaching at ORT Motzkin in Kiryat Motzkin. After one year teaching high-level students, the English coordinator asked her to create an accelerated course using literature, vocabulary, grammar, and visual art elements.

Students in grades 10-12 participate in the class. She reports that students often speak with her outside class about personal matters. The school is part of the Israel Sci-Tech Schools network.

The past two and a half years have included frequent Zoom classes and air-raid sirens in northern Israel. Cohen says she limits news consumption to focus on her children. She notes that life in Israel features direct communication and a mix of urgency and warmth that she has grown to appreciate.