SKA girls travel with ‘Write on for Israel’

Four students from the Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls participated in a two year Israel Advocacy Training program, open to juniors and seniors of all denominations. Once a month the students meet to learn tactics and the history of Israel in order to be effective Israel advocates on college campuses across America. 

The experience culminates with a trip to Israel during Presidents Week and focuses on both political issues that face Israel today, and on creating a meaningful relationship with the country that the students will be defending. Aliza Isaacs, Kayla Leifer, Leora Spitz, and I all grew tremendously from this opportunity and each of us have a different insight into what we’ve gained. 

Aliza Isaacs said, “I enjoyed getting to know the participants on the program. Even though we all came from different backgrounds, we were united in our goal of advocating for Israel.”

Both Leora Spitz and I appreciated the seminar given by Lt. Col. David Benjamin. As a former lawyer on international law for the state of Israel he relayed concrete, concise answers to tough questions about the actions of the Israeli government. The legality of the settlements, war crimes, and the UN are various things he gave deep insights to, breaking them down and making them understandable to the average person.

Kayla Leifer felt that although she has visited Israel many times for holidays with family and close friends, the Write On Trip gave her a new and enlightened view on why Israel, a country that she was brought up to love, is the greatest one in the world.

Though each of us appreciated different parts of the program, we all gained strength from a broader sense of community, with our peers, with our people, and with our country. Through Write On for Israel we all also gained the skills to effectively defend this community on college campuses and beyond.