High School Students Attend AJC Trip in Washington, D.C.

by Shir Levenson, SSLI ‘26

Last weekend, high school students attended a conference with the American Jewish Committee’s (AJC's) Leaders for Tomorrow (LFT) program. The year-round fellowship for high schoolers around the country culminates in a powerful trip to Washington, D.C., where students visit important sites and speak to politicians about current issues facing Jewish people in the United States.

Jordan Bitton, a junior, is a participant in the LFT program this year but was unable to make it to the conference. Bitton explained that the goals of the fellowship are to “teach [high schoolers] the leadership skills and how to combat antisemitism in their daily lives.” LFT “meets once a month,” Bitton said, and the cohorts are divided by location, so Bitton spends time with other teens from around Long Island.

This is Bitton’s second year in the program, and he shared that, during the meetings, they learn advocacy skills and hear stories from valuable role models. This year, Bitton has heard “different perspectives from IDF soldiers” among other important speakers.

Bitton shared that “usually, there is a speaker or someone who's discussing a certain topic. They are an expert [on their issue], and they'll kind of tell you everything you need to know about the situation…. You'll kind of look at different documents, and you'll really learn their whole story.”

Students had a great time in Washington, D.C. (N. Schlank)

Amit Nitzan, a senior, said that the D.C. trip was “a good experience.” He elaborated, “I learned a lot. It was fun talking to people from around the world.”

Micah Bidner, a junior, attended the conference this year and was deeply impacted by the experience of visiting Washington, D.C. Bidner explained that throughout the year, they have been learning about Jewish advocacy, but “being able to talk to people on Capitol Hill and guest speakers and everything that we were doing, really brought a lot of it to real life for me, and it took it outside of the classroom.”

At LFT throughout the year, said Bidner, “We talk so much about the Israel and Palestine conflict and antisemitism on college campuses, but now we were able to hear real stories, talk to Congressmen, talk to college students, and talk to activists who spend their lives advocating for Israel and really see how it's real."

Bidner continued, “We met with staffers from Tom Suozzi and representative Loyota’s offices. Loyota is a Republican from Suffolk County, and Tom Suozzi is a Democrat from Nassau County.”

When in the government buildings, Bidner shared, “We were able to meet with their staffers, and this was especially interesting because I made sure to reemphasize the need to bring home Omer's HY”D body as soon as possible…. They were very happy to hear and listen.”

Shir Levenson is a writer for Paw Print Now and has been published on the site since December 2022. Shir is currently a junior at Schechter School of Long Island and can be reached at the following email address: slevenson26@schechterli.org