NJ students ‘talk Israel’ at advocacy retreat
CLOSE TO 50 young people took part in programs on Israel education and advocacy at the third annual Talk Israel Weekend Retreat for Jewish College Students in New Jersey, held Nov. 1-3 at the Hanover Marriott in Whippany.
The students represented Drew University, Montclair State University, Fairleigh Dickinson University College at Florham, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Seton Hall University, and Rutgers University. The retreat is cosponsored by the Community Relations Committee and Israel Program Center of the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ.
Representatives from CRC partner organizations — including IsraelExperts, Hasbara Fellowships, StandWithUs, CAMERA, and Young Judaea — implemented the programs. The students learned how to communicate effectively about Israel to their peers, build on-campus coalitions for Israel, run advocacy campaigns, and map out advocacy plans for their campuses. They also learned about Israeli art, music, culture, and technological and environmental innovations.
Samantha Kaufman, a freshman Hillel member at Drew University, attended Talk Israel for the first time. “Participating in the retreat opened my eyes to new ways of bringing Jewish life and Israel to my campus,” she said. “I will continue to network with the friends I made at the retreat. Overall, it was an awesome weekend.”
The retreat is made possible by contributions from the Cooperman Family Fund for a Jewish Future, the Consulate General of Israel in New York, and the Greater MetroWest federation.
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