View source for Hebrew Academy of Nassau County

The '''Hebrew Academy of Nassau County''' ('''HANC''') is a K-12, comprehensive, [[Modern Orthodox Judaism|Modern Orthodox Jewish]] school system, located in [[Nassau County, New York|Nassau County]], [[New York (state)|New York]].

{{Infobox school
 | box_width               = 
 | name                    = 
 | motto                   = חנך לנער על פי דרכו
 | motto_translation       = Train the youth according to his way
 | type                    = Private [[Jewish day school]]
 | denomination            = [[Modern Orthodoxy|Modern Orthodox]]
 | established             = 1953
 | founder                 = Rabbi Meyer Fendel
 | principal               = Rabbi Ouriel Hazan (K-8)
                             Rabbi Eli Slomnicki (HS)
 | gender                  = Co-ed
 | athletics_conference    = [[Metropolitan Yeshiva High School Athletic League|MYHSAL]]
 | team_name               = Hurricanes
 | accreditation           = [[Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools]]
 | newspaper               = HANC Happenings
 | website                 = [https://hanc.org hanc.org]
}}

==History==

In 1953, Nassau County was virtually empty of Jewish education. Through the dedicated efforts of Rabbi Meyer and Goldie Fendel, and a small group of individuals, the vision to establish a [[Jewish day school|Hebrew day school]] on [[Long Island]] was conceived.<ref>Schonbrun, Rabbi Schaye "A Pioneering Spirit" ''Mishpacha'' 17 December 2024 https://mishpacha.com/a-pioneering-spirit/</ref>

HANC’s four campuses, the Samuel and Elizabeth Bass Golding Early Childhood Center and Elementary School (two buildings) in [[West Hempstead, New York|West Hempstead]], the HANC Plainview Elementary School and Joshua Waitman Early Childhood Center (one building) in [[Plainview, New York|Plainview]], and the HANC Middle School (also referred to as the Moses Hornstein Educational Center) and Brookdale High School (one building) in [[Uniondale, New York|Uniondale]], serve more than twelve hundred students, from nursery through high school, who come from fifty communities throughout Long Island and [[Queens]].

After the Fendels made [[aliyah]] in 1985, Rabbi [[Shlomo Wahrman]] took the helm as principal and [[Rosh yeshiva|Rosh Yeshiva]]. During this time, Rabbi [[Moshe Gottesman]] served as a teacher, dean, and principal at HANC from 1960 until his retirement around 2010. Rabbi Ouriel Hazan became the principal of HANC's West Hempstead campuses in 2021.

In 2021, HANC sold its Plainview campus to the founders of Merkaz Academy, a new yeshiva that operates at this site.<ref>Ain, Stewart "Long Island leaders and parents save a Jewish day school by buying it" ''JTA'' 5 August, 2021 https://www.jta.org/2021/08/05/ny/long-island-leaders-and-parents-save-a-jewish-day-school-by-buying-it</ref> HANC also sold its elementary school building at 609 Hempstead Avenue to Young Israel of West Hempstead. In addition to fundraising, proceeds from these sales contributed towards an expanded campus at its Early Childhood Center at 240 Hempstead Avenue, where construction began in June 2024.<ref>Kadinsky, Sergey "Groundbreaking for New HANC Campus in West Hempstead" ''Queens Jewish Link'' 20 June, 2024 https://www.queensjewishlink.com/index.php/local/20-community-corner/by-sergey-kadinsky/10900-groundbreaking-for-new-hanc-campus-in-west-hempstead</ref> The campus expansion will consolidate all classes grades K through 8 at one site.

==Notable alumni==
* [[Devorah Blachor]], author
* Rabbi [[Menachem Creditor]]
* [[Nathan Englander]], author
* [[Alice Feiring]]
* [[David M. Friedman]] (born 1958), United States Ambassador to Israel<ref>Maltz, Judy. [https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-inside-the-west-bank-settlement-at-the-heart-of-trump-s-israel-policy-1.5486631 "Inside the Religious West Bank Settlement That Forged President Trump's Israel Policy; What is it about Beit El that has so captured the attention and donations of key figures in the incoming U.S. administration, all the way up to Trump himself?"], ''[[Haaretz]]'', January 17, 2017. Accessed January 11, 2021. "Friedman, who grew up on Long Island, also has a childhood friend who lives on the settlement. Hillel Fendel, co-founder of the Arutz Sheva English news site, was a classmate of Friedman’s at the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County (HANC). Fendel’s father was the longtime principal there."</ref>
* [[Ari Goldwag]], songwriter
* [[David Harsanyi]], writer
* Rabbi [[Irwin Kula]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{coord missing|New York (state)}}
{{Yeshivas in New York (state)}}
{{Metropolitan Yeshiva High School Athletic League}}
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[[Category:Modern Orthodox Jewish day schools in the United States]]
[[Category:Educational institutions established in 1953]]
[[Category:Schools in Nassau County, New York]]
[[Category:Jewish day schools in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Private high schools in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Private middle schools in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Private elementary schools in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Jews and Judaism in Nassau County, New York]]
[[Category:1953 establishments in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Jewish organizations established in 1953]]