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The youth on our program – bright, spirited individuals with varied leadership styles – are now better-equipped to secure our Jewish future. Being in Israel during one of the country’s darkest moments to date has inspired us to become beacons of light in our North American communities.
For five inspirational weeks this summer, I joined NCSY’s TJJ Ambassadors Poland, a program that taps into the powerful Jewish history of both Poland and Israel and challenges participants to develop leadership skills and impact the Jewish future on their own terms.
While I had originally assumed that the most important element of the program would be confronting Jewish history, I soon realized that our development as leaders and architects of the Jewish future was just as important, if not more so.
During the program’s third week, we visited the Golan, and area situated in the northernmost point of Israel, literally minutes away from neighboring Syria. As our tour guide recounted how a handful of Israeli tanks fought off the Syrians during the Six Day War, we heard no less than nine explosions in the distance. The sounds of a frightening amount of gunfire soon followed.
As we all know, Syria is embroiled in a bloody civil war in which scores of innocent civilians – men, women, and children – have been lost. Sunni and Shi’ite militants massacre each other in the streets. We could hear the violence form our perch in the Golan. We heard screams from Damascus, a mere 60 kilometers away from where we stood.
The worst part about the situation in Syria is that it is only one small component of the Middle East’s woes. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict looms large. The world looks on as Iran amasses a nuclear arsenal. Numerous countries have been taken over by terrorist organizations – Hezbollah in Lebanon and ISIS in Iraq are just the only two getting headlines at the moment.
What’s to Stop the Violence from Escalating?
The Middle East is a jigsaw puzzle, each piece its own complex and wholly unique problem. And what’s to stop it from escalating further?
One night, in our Jerusalem hotel room, my fellow TJJ participants and I were debating nothing in particular when we saw a flash of light in the distance. We ran to the window and witnessed the IDF’s Iron Dome system in action. At that distance, we couldn’t hear the explosions, but the sight itself was captivating: in a matter of seconds, Israeli technology stopped a lethal threat dead in its tracks. For a moment, it had silenced terror.
After considering what I had witnessed, I came to the realization that it was not Israel’s technological innovations that were ensuring the safety of millions across the country. It was the young soldiers who guided the Iron Dome rockets,making sure that families stayed intact, that children did not become orphans. They, together with their counterparts, Israel’s brave battalions of young soldiers on the front lines, are the true super-heroes who protect the nation from a gruesome fate.
While Israel cannot single-handedly resolve the Middle East’s numerous problems, it will continue to fight for its own survival. To do this, to secure its future, Israel relies on its youth.
We Will Educate, We Will Lead
The more I think about this, the more I realize that it’s a perfect metaphor for Jewish life as a whole.
The youth on our program – bright, spirited individuals with varied leadership styles – are now better-equipped to secure our Jewish future. Being in Israel during one of the country’s darkest moments to date has inspired us to become beacons of light in our North American communities.
We are ready to stand up to Holocaust denial. We are armed with the facts on the ground about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We know where we come from and are confident about where we are going as a nation. We will educate, and we will lead.
As the next generation of Jewish leaders, we are the Iron Dome of Jewish continuity.
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