February 20, 2019
Last week, nearly 100 high school students gathered in our nation's capital to defend Israel and the Jewish people. Fifteen of those students came from our LFT Los Angeles program. We had the largest cohort of students and I thank all of you who sent your children with us. We missed the students who could not attend!
Because the LA students had a longer distance to travel, we arrived the evening before the rest of the LFT groups. That gave the students a chance to bond with each other and to have a personal tour of D.C. Luckily, Holly (Huffnagle), AJC's Assistant Directer of International Relations, knows D.C. well- as she just moved back to Los Angeles after living in D.C. for 9 years working at the State Department. We took the students to a great Mexican restaurant on Saturday night (yes, they actually do have good Mexican food in D.C.). We then walked to the White House and ended the evening on a sweet note at a crepe restaurant.
We woke up Sunday morning, gave the students bagels and cream cheese from the popular Bethesda Bagels, and we walked to Georgetown University where Holly gave us a brief campus tour, Georgetown's colonial neighborhood, and we tried the famous Georgetown Cupcakes. We walked back to the hotel where the students joined the other LFT students from all over the U.S. for lunch followed by an all-day advocacy training. After dinner, we had a night tour of D.C.- where we visited the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War monuments, the MLK memorial, and the White House.
We started Monday morning bright and early with a panel that included diplomats from the Embassies of Singapore, Egypt, and the Czech Republic. We then went to Capitol Hill where our students met with staff from the offices of Congressmen Ted Lieu, Tony Cárdenas, Jimmy Gomez, and they actually had a meeting with Congressman Brad Sherman.
The meetings were really led by the students themselves. They introduced AJC and the work that we do. They thanked their representatives for signing the Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism (or asked them to join) and asked them to support the Palestinian Partnership Fund Act. The students then went on to explain what the Palestinian Partnership Fund Act actually is and why it is important to support (if you're interested in learning more- ask your kids about it). They then asked each Representative they met with to condemn Congresswoman Ilhan Omar's tweets which spewed classic antisemitic tropes. After our meeting on the Hill, we drove to the Israeli embassy where the students met with Elad Strohmayer, Spokesperson, Embassy of Israel. He discussed how Israel is represented in the news and what conversations the Embassy chooses to engage in. The students then had a chance to ask well-informed and thoughtful questions. Finally, our trip came to an end and we rushed to the airport to catch our flight.
It was an amazing trip! I can't tell you how proud Holly and I are after watching our LFT students hold their own in Congressional meetings. They were so smart, well-spoken, and professional! These students not only had a chance to bond with each other and meet new friends, they also learned how to advocate for Israel, the Jewish community, and human rights overall.
Our last LFT session will be on March 17th, where the students will meet at our AJC office to hear from the Consul General of Germany. They will also have a Q&A session with Jason Isaacson, AJC Associate Executive Director for Policy and Managing Director of Government and International Affairs. We will then host a private dinner with LFT parents and Jason during the evening. Stay tuned for more information and for the invitation.
If you are excited about the potential of our LFT program and the work that we do at AJC, we encourage you to donate to AJC. Your gift to AJC will allow for future LFT programs and will teach other Jewish students how to advocate on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people. If you are interested in donating, please click here.
