Last fall, 17 local teenagers participated inthe Jewish Federation of Howard County’s Israel Engagement Campus Fellowship.The six-week fellowship was created to inform and educate participants aboutthe Arab-Israeli conflict and help them develop advocacy, writing andcommunications skills prior to attending college. The students, Jewish andnon-Jewish, came from such Howard County schools as Atholton, Oakland Mills andRiver Hill high schools.
The program’s curriculum was developed andtaught by Shay Rubinstein, the federation’s shaliach, or Israel emissary. Thefellowship’s final class on Dec. 16 featured guest speaker Michelle Rojas-Tal, directorof the Israel Fellows Program for the Jewish Agency for Israel, who shared herexperiences of working with Israelis on college campuses.
The following was written by fellowship participant Rebecca Smelkinson, a junior at Oakland Mills High School in Columbia:
The Jewish Federation ofHoward County’s Israel Campus Engagement Fellowship was an incredible learningexperience. Prior to the fellowship, I had visited Israel, but there were stillso many more things that I was curious and eager to learn about that beautifulcountry, so the fellowship was the perfect program for me.
Each week of the program, Shay Rubinstein, the federation’sshaliach, touched on different, informative topics about Israel thathelped me and the other fellows form our own opinions and strengthen the skillswe need to advocate for Israel.
With every topic — like the Arab-Israeli conflict, the newface of anti-Semitism, and the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement— Shay taught us how to have productive conversations while firmly defendingIsrael’s legitimacy. Each of my peers entered the fellowship with a different levelof knowledge about Israel, but the program challenged each of us to expand ourunderstanding and consider new perspectives.
Shay began the fellowship by providing us with afoundational knowledge about Israel, such as the history of the relationshipbetween Israel and the Jewish people. From there, we dove into more complextopics, such as the Arab-Israeli conflict and its daily effect on Israelis.
It was especially powerful to hear about this topic from anIsraeli because Shay shared personal stories with us about his encounters withPalestinians and his experiences living through this conflict.
Over the course of the program, we also learned about thegeography of Israel, its demographics and its complex political system. Shayeven showed us how Israeli music has developed over time.
During the fellowship, many powerful conversations among mypeers and me addressed some of the questions that I had regarding theArab-Israeli conflict and how to acknowledge both perspectives.
The most important subject that the fellowship touched on,in my opinion, was how to tackle anti-Semitism on our future college campuses.Shay taught us communication skills helped us become more confident in ourability to stand up to anti-Semites, such as how to respectfully disagree withsomebody and how to get our point across without disregarding someone else’s. Iloved being able to hear about the opinions and the experiences of other Jewishstudents in Howard County.
We also commiserated over anti-Semitic interactions thatmost of us have unfortunately encountered through our middle and high schoolyears. It was really interesting to hear everyone’s point of view and toconsider how different things are from school to school, even though we alllive in the same county.
As most of us had visited Israel before, we got to shareour own stories and experiences about Israel, and listen to Shay, who had manycool stories as well. Throughout the fellowship, we also got to hear from somespecial speakers and have a session with all of our parents, where we had thechance to present topics that we had learned and answer tough questions that wemay come across in the future.
The fellowship has expanded my horizons about Israel andhelped me understand how to respect the views of others while standing up formyself and advocating for Israel and the Jewish people. Since the fellowship, Ihave a newfound confidence that will serve me on my future college campusand beyond. I now understand how many American students have experiencedanti-Semitism and how they feel under-represented on their college campuses.
This is an unfortunate reality because all students shouldfeel safe at school. I never want to feel uncomfortable on my future collegecampus but with the skills I have gained from the fellowship, I feel empoweredand more prepared to share my own beliefs and opinions.
Only when we see the bigger picture do we understand that God has a bigger plan, writes Rabbi Dr. Eli Yoggev.
Former Baltimorean Mindy Sager Dickler, who made aliyah in 2021, writes about the experience of living in Israel over the past week.
The city’s not a winner when little girls can’t walk through a shopping mall with their mothers without getting shot, writes Michael Olesker.
When interviewing for a job, focus on everything you have to offer a prospective employer, advises Karen Hammer of the Ignite Career Center.