Changing the World as a Teen (Eliana Eisenberg, High School Intern)
As a high school student who is eager to learn as much as I can about Israel and how to best support the country that I love so much, I am always looking for opportunities to expand my knowledge. In addition to participating in the Hasbara Fellowships High School Internship, another program that has been very influential for me is the Diller Teen Leadership program. Diller brings teens from all around the globe together to discover their Jewish identity. This phenomenal program shapes the future Jewish generation. In a short 12 months, leaders are developed, lasting friendships are formed, and teenagers learn skills that will help them repair the world. Diller encouraged me to learn more about Israel and increase my advocacy skills, which is why I decided to get involved in Hasbara in order to further strengthen and enhance my bond with Israel.
Through shabbatons, workshops, volunteering and more, we learn a lot about what Judaism is and how it connects to Israel before going off to university. Diller introduces Israel to many students for their first time and having more people on campus with connections to Israel is extremely important in stopping antisemitism. Then, on Hasbara, I learned how to use these experiences to effectively support Israel on campus. One of the things we learn is that, when fighting BDS and anti-Semitism, it is very important to make your statements personal. That way, your conversation will have more of an effect on the person you are speaking with. Diller allows us to make personal connections with Israel so that we can make our statements personal when conversing with others.
As many of us know, there is a strong anti-Israel bias on university campuses. Similar to many global institutions, student governments hold a double standard when it comes to Israel and seek to delegitimize our homeland. That is why having programs like Hasbara and Diller are extremely important. We need to have many voices out on campuses standing up against BDS. Through Diller, we get to travel to Israel, and through Hasbara, we learn how to stand up for it. Going to Israel and seeing it for ourselves is an important step in becoming stronger advocates. Additionally, seeing all the history and the people there helps advocates connect with Israel. Many of the Diller alumni have told me that this program drove them to become better advocates and rendered them even more passionate about the importance of Israel advocacy. Diller gives students the opportunity to create relationships and experiences that can allow them to come home and show others what true Israel is like. For me, this meant getting involved in Hasbara Fellowships so I could learn how to do this in the most effective way possible.
Each Diller Fellow is partnered with an Israeli teen and we get to visit each other and spend time living in each other’s homes, allowing us to form deep connections and see what life is like for each other. We also get to meet other Zionist teens from around the world. These experiences provide us with a lot of insight into what daily life is like for Israelis, and it gives us the inspiration and motivation we need to keep fighting for Israel back home.
Similarly, Hasbara Fellowships’ High School Internship gives us the opportunity to connect and learn with students just like us from all across Canada, allowing us to learn from one another. Past participants in Hasbara and Diller are continuing to support and stand up for Israel, including in high schools, universities, and even beyond. These programs create successful pro-Israel leaders and advocates who are fighting for Israel around the world.
To conclude, I encourage everyone to take part in Hasbara Fellowships and Diller Teen Fellows. They teach us valuable skills that we will be using for the rest of our lives. They engrave a sense of responsibility into each of us. We create unforgettable friendships and memories. Our experiences show us that our actions can have a huge impact on other people and the world. Furthermore, the meaningful discussions we have teach us to respect each other’s opinions. Despite those essential lessons, the most important thing is how much students can learn about advocacy. We are inspired by meeting teens from across the country and around the world who are passionate about Israel and Zionism. In the end, we are ready to take a stand against antisemitism and BDS.
