Scheck Hillel Junior Appointed StandWithUs Intern

Scheck Hillel students took time this summer to challenge themselves through special courses, service projects and work experiences. Leonardo Bentata '21 attended a conference of the non-profit StandWithUs, which kicked off a year-long internship focused on organizing community and school programs educating about Israel. This is Leonardo's account of the experience:

 

In August, I attended the StandWithUs High School Internship Conference in Los Angeles, California. StandWithUs is a nonprofit whose main goal is educating about Israel and fighting antisemitism around the world. In this week-long conference, 90 students from throughout the United States and Canada were taught Israeli history, how to differentiate between legitimate criticism of Israel and when it crosses the line into antisemitism, and how to respond appropriately to someone who is opposed to your views. In the area of professional development, we learned about networking, group dynamics, public speaking, and time-management. This conference was the beginning of what will be a year-long internship focused on creating Israel-related programs that fit our school and communities' needs. It was an amazing experience that left me super motivated to teach others the skills I learned. I'm very excited to begin organizing programs in my community and school that hopefully will inspire and teach others how to educate about Israel and fight antisemitism themselves.