Five Students Lobby for Israel at AIPAC’s Schusterman Advocacy Institute High School Summit

On November 3, Hebrew Academy students Tziyona Gheblikian, Herschel Karp, Ben Grosz, Yosef Fruhman, and Gal Gottesman traveled to Washington, DC to attend AIPAC’s Schusterman Advocacy Institute High School Summit.  For three days, the students attended intensive seminars about lobbying and college campus advocacy with over 400 of their peers from around the nation.  In addition to learning how to voice support, they studied and learned about the issues confronting the US-Israel relationship. Specifically, our delegation stressed support for Israel as well as the Luria/Zeldin/Stevens/Waltz Letter to the U.N. Secretary General on Hezbollah.

The culmination of the Summit is a trip to Capitol Hill to lobby a current member of the House of Representatives.  Our delegates were fortunate to lobby the Honorable Donna Shalala, where they met with her staff. Her staff was exceptionally receptive and hospitable, inviting our delegates to sit in the Congresswoman’s office while they prepared Cuban coffee for our visit.  The meeting was very smooth, and the extensive preparation of our delegates was evident. Our conversation continued far beyond the issues at hand, due to the Congresswoman’s well documented support for Israel—and the potential addition of her signature to the Luria/Zeldin/Stevens/Waltz Letter was encouraged. Our delegates concluded their successful meeting with a well deserved afternoon tour of Washington, D.C. before returning on Tuesday evening. Although they were exhausted, they also returned accomplished and prepared for their roles as advocates for the US-Israel relationship.