Instead, Mitchell and Ovadia traveled to the borders of Lebanon and Syria, visited the Qalqilya check point in the West Bank, and gained access to restricted army bases and security posts in Israel’s most troubled areas. The teens were among 45 high school students from around the country to participate in a program called Write On For Israel.
An intensive two-year program, Write On For Israel trains a select group of high school students to become well-informed advocates for Israel through writing, broadcasting, and public speaking, according to Linda Scherzer, a former CNN correspondent in Israel who is now director of Write On For Israel/NY.
Students took a series of seminars at Columbia University, taught by educators and journalists, with visits from Israeli officials, IDF officers and PR executives. During presidents week, the group traveled to Israel to gain a firsthand look at the political and security issues of the day. They also met with senior journalists, including David Horovitz, editor of the Jerusalem Post.
Mitchell and Ovadia said the trip inspired them in many positive ways. “We slept only about four to five hours a night because we had so much to see and do,” said Ovadia. “It was the trip of a lifetime.”
The teens said they enjoyed delving deep into their favorite fields of Israeli politics and history. “The program gave us an overview of Israeli politics, and presented each side of the story so that we could form our own opinions,” said Mitchell. “The ultimate goal is that by the time we get to college campuses, we have the resources to express ourselves effectively on Israel’s behalf.”
In the last six years, one or two Hillel students have participated each year in Write On For Israel, said Emily Labaton, a Judaic studies coordinator at Hillel, and advisor for the program.
“Programs like Write On help raise the level of discourse about Israel at Hillel. There’s quite a bit of anti-Israel sentiment on most college campuses, and young people need to be able to address it in an intelligent way. The views of Write On participants are not all homogenous; some are more to the right, some more to the left. It’s about education, not indoctrination,” Labaton said.
Write On gives students the tools to address critical issues facing Israel. “At many universities—Including Rutgers—Israel’s detractors have created a toxic environment for the pro-Israel community, blaming Israel for the collapse of peace talks, accusing Israel of war crimes and failing to acknowledge Israel’s legitimate security concerns or the Palestinian Authority’s responsibility for why the process has failed,” Scherzer said.
“The situation is enormously complicated and difficult to explain, particularly for 19-year-olds who may have little understanding of this part of the world. We believe it’s vital for Jewish students to be educated about Israel’s ancient and historic claim to this disputed land; to understand the origins of the current conflict, to learn how to write educated opinion pieces and to know how to effectively debate so they can stand up with confidence in order to defend the Jewish State and represent the Jewish community,” she added.
“While visiting Sderot, we saw thousands of bomb shelters, even a caterpillar-shaped shelter for kids in a playground,” said Mitchell. “Imagine the psychological problems these children have from living in fear of the constant barrage of missiles from Gaza. Before this trip we saw it on the news, but you never truly experience it until you meet the people and hear the sadness in their voices and their longing for an end to the fighting.”
Ovadia said the experience heightened his awareness of the necessity to support Israel. “Seeing the places and the people helps put into context what we are advocating. It heightened our need to speak up for Israel because not enough people do it,” he said.
A visit to Har Herzl, Israel’s largest military cemetery, moved both teens to tears. “It was the most emotional experience of the whole trip, and I just broke down there,” Mitchell said. “It’s just not normal to see so many graves of 19-year-olds. Can you imagine that so many people in Israel have lost a father, a brother, a sister, a friend?”
During the cemetery visit, the group encountered parents visiting the gravesite of their son, Erez Deri, who died shortly after a military operation in Jenin. The mother, Pnina, invited the group over to the grave to talk about her son. She spoke about her profound loss and her regret that she would never see him marry and become a father. When she expressed her desire to dedicate a Torah in his name, members of the Write On group sprung into action. A fund, called Write On For Erez, has been created to help raise $30,000 for a Torah that the Deri family plans to march from their home in Maaleh Adumim to the family’s synagogue.
“This was a unique opportunity for the group to come together to do something incredibly meaningful for both the Write On students and the Deri family,” said Scherzer. “I have no doubt that these teens will help achieve this dream.”
For more information about the Write On For Erez Torah fund, please contact Mitchell Parker at Mitchell.parker24@yahoo.com. For more information about Write On For Israel, visit www.writeonforisrael.org.
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Jill Garbi is a freelance writer and editor.
