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(January 10, 2023 / JNS) The Abraham Accords continue to shift the momentum in the Middle East towards peace, prosperity and intercultural friendship.
On January 2, 40 undergraduate student leaders embarked on the latest step in that journey, flying from New York’s JFK International Airport on a 10-day trip to Israel and the United Arab Emirates.They are participants in the maiden voyage Israel Campus Alliance(ICC) Geller International Scholarship.
Fellows included Democrats, Republicans and independents who attended public and private schools. Five of the students attended Ivy League schools, four attended historically black colleges and universities, and 20 attended public schools.
Participants are prominent leaders on their campuses, many of whom are active in student government, local politics, and campus activist clubs.
Their itinerary included meetings with a number of Israeli leaders and officials, including the deputy mayor of Jerusalem Fleur Hassan-Nahum; watch the news Amichai Stein, Diplomatic Correspondent; Spokesperson, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lior Hayat; and Shiri Fein Grossman, Director of Government Partnerships, OurCrowd Venture capital platform.
After arriving in the UAE on January 9, the group will meet with local students studying in Dubai, experience the VIP tour of Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world in Dubai, and meet Israelis Ambassador to the UAE Amir Hayek visited Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque (largest in the country), visit to The Dubai Mall (largest in the world), and conclude on January 12 with a speech by Chief Rabbi Levi Duhman, UAE Rabbi.
ICC Geller International Fellows briefed on policy initiatives jerusalem by vice-mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahum and watch the news Diplomatic correspondent Amichai Stein. Image credit: israelcc/Instagram.
next generation
“The long-term vision is to build a community of pro-Israel leaders in the United States for the next generation,” ICC CEO Jacob Baime told JNS about the new annual plan.
Participating students “will be influential business leaders, influential political leaders, influential cultural leaders … one of the things I love about working on campus is you can identify who is going to be a potential leaders … it’s really a great group,” Baimei said.
Three of the students on the trip spoke to JNS after only 24 hours in Israel, and each student was excited about the upcoming trip, excited to talk to the no-nonsense leaders, and to network with the other participants despite their backgrounds And cultures vary, but all speak the common language of Zionism.
Keron Campbell, a trip participant from Washington, D.C. who spent three years as a pro-Israel activist at Morehouse College in Atlanta, spoke candidly about the challenges he faced giving Jewish voice at one of the most historically black colleges in the United States.
“I was always blamed because I was African-American, I was a pro-Israel activist, and I was a black Zionist,” Campbell told JNS. “I hear these arguments all the time from friends or family … they know Israel from what the media portrays, but they don’t know Israel because they came to Israel and saw the culture, experienced Jewish culture. …..I love the Jewish community.”
Another trip participant, Tessa Veksler, was a junior at UCSB where she was active in student government and eventually ran for student senator. She is co-chair of the school’s Student Support Israel chapter and is the campus liaison for the UCSB Chabad Committee. Her involvement with the student council puts her in direct conflict with BDS movement activists – and she meets them at one of the most ironic moments.
“My first introduction to the student body was BDS because it was almost the second time the Senate before me was sworn in,” she told JNS.
sitting in a bomb shelter
“I was in a 12-hour meeting where I was actually in Israel, during the siege,” she continued. “I remember making that call and part of my speech explaining how absurd it was that I was sitting in a bomb shelter in this country and you were all debating on this campus and yet you felt as a senator you had the right to be completely at peace with this conflict Nothing, and little understanding would have such a huge impact on the campus, negatively impacting the campus.”
Cuban-born Daniel Badell immigrated to the U.S. at age 6 and attended the University of Florida, where he also participated in student government—as vice president while he studied political science, international studies and economics. Badell has worked with Gators for Israel since his freshman year, and while his interest in international politics initially focused him on Europe and Latin America, he quickly threw himself into the Zionist cause, starting with his own family in Cuba. echoes in the diaspora experience.
Asked if he saw similarities between Cubans and Jews, Bader said, “Yeah, 100 percent, I think it’s me and my mentors and my colleagues being involved in the pro-Israel space on campus.” Thing…I think we have a strong Cuban connection to the pro-Israel community…I’m sure everyone has their reasons. But for me I think the stories and parallels are hard miss.”
ICC Geller International Fellows visit ANU – Museum of the Jewish People, located north of Tel Aviv. Image credit: israelcc/Instagram.
the idea of the motherland
Badell continued, “So, the idea of homeland, the idea of being in exile, and living in the diaspora … It didn’t quite kickstart my advocacy in the pro-Israel world, but it made it easy for me to find my space, find my story, and connecting that story to the work I’m doing.”
Students talking to JNS shortly after their meeting Hassan-Nahoum, everyone raves about learning from the deputy mayor. Campbell pointed to her job as “leveling the playing field” for women, especially Palestinian women.
Wexler said, “I think especially in a city as extremely diverse as Jerusalem, where the minority population in Israel is the largest. She has really interesting insights that I think a lot of Americans would find useful to know about, and that’s it.” The kind of cycle Arabs and ultra-Orthodox Jews are in when it comes to urban poverty.”
Badell called a meeting Hassan Nahum “It was a great tour-opening talk,” said it, “which does a great job of pulling things out of the American context and explaining what sometimes seems like a paradox to us but really isn’t.”
Regarding the opportunity to visit the UAE, Campbell said: “Every time I watch a video of Dubai, I am in awe. This beautiful Middle Eastern country has so much innovation, so much talent, so much hard work. This time I am even more excited about Dubai because I Been to Israel…it’s the first time anyone in my family has traveled this far. I’m so excited.”
The students, Baime said, “really enjoy interacting with each other and getting to know each other. These are elite leaders from across campuses. They just enjoy meeting leaders from all over the country. The diversity of the campuses they come from is amazing a part of.”
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