A bunch of us in the pro-Israel advocacy game took a drive up to Amherst, MA in the dead of winter, not exactly the best time to visit. We ran an Israel advoacy conference with the students at UMASS.
We had a special event in the evening with the Jewish rapper from Staten Island, REMEDY, who is best known for his song "Never Again" about the Holocaust. Definitely an interesting event.
So much happened in the course of a week, so I cant really recall the exact order of things but here's a few things that happened:
I stayed by my new boss' house, which I found strange, but it was a nice comfortable place, so I managed. My boss' daughter introduced me to Napoleon Dynamite for the first time. IDIOT!
It was a busy day at StandWithUs in LA. They took me down to UC Irvine twice within that week, once to video tape the nasty anti-Israel speaker Malik Ali (seen in this video from Tolerating Intolerance):
Needless to say standing in the audience of about 100 visibly Muslim anti-Israel UCI students was not fun, but somewhat exhilarating being amidst it all.
Additionally, we brought a bombed out bus from Israel (Bus #19 from Jerusalem) to LA and to UC Irvine, to show the world what Islamic terrorism has done to the Jewish people in Israel.
I had the opportunity to interview people with their thoughts and feelings on why the work of StandWithUs is so important... educating the world about what is going on in the Middle East, and how we can effect change for Israel.
In my first week of work at SWU, I've managed to help run a one-day Israel advocacy conference for CUNY students hosted at Hunter College on 2/6/05.
We had students from 10 different CUNY campuses, which is great considering how apathetic most of these campuses are toward Israel.
I got to meet a bunch of new people, some who came to watch the SuperBowl with me. Being single... these advocacy conferences sure are a great way to meet girls. Yes it's true. Another reason to be involved with Israel on campus. Dating.
This was my second WUJS (World Union of Jewish Students) conference. It is such a great experience getting to meet and socialize with Jewish student leaders from all over the world. I particularly connected with the students from UJS (UK) and AUJS (Australia). There are a lot of things I was able to learn from their groups in how they conduct Jewish & Israel advocacy on harsher campus climates.
I went representing NAJSA (North American Jewish Student Alliance), attempting to get the Americans an official seat at the WUJS table. After this experience, I now know what it feels to be Israel at the U.N. A good chunk of the student representatives there did not want the U.S. to have a place within their organization, fearing we would have too much power.
Basic problems arise because Hillel, which isnt a student-run organization, basically controls most campuses and Jewish organizations in the U.S. The rest of the world is basically run the opposite way, with students controlling their JSUs or Hillels. That is ideal here in the U.S., but Hillel International would never have it.
Anyways... back in Haifa, we got to tour around the city, and we eventually got to climb down the Baha'i Gardens ... unbelievably beautiful! Wow! A must visit for everyone!
I've decided to write about the various travels my work and personal life take me. Through my work at StandWithUs, I will be able to visit numerous campuses across the U.S. and Canada. I hope to meet new people, and experience new things along the way.
One of the things I will continue to do now that I am out of college is network like crazy... at conferences, at Shabbat meals, and of course... on Facebook.
