What do you get when you combine 50 high school students and a world-class rabbi? You get the Kushner 2018 AIPAC delegation led by the one and only, Rabbi Richard Kirsch. As a high school freshman, this was my first AIPAC Policy Conference, and I was in for a surprise in so many ways. Our AIPAC club conducted numerous meetings to educate and prepare us for the conference, however, no one could have prepared us for the severe March snowstorm that we would encounter on the way to Kushner’s annual shabbaton in Baltimore.
With Shabbos nearing, Rabbi Kirsch consulted with Rabbi Rubin and other poskim, and our entire bus sang Kabbalat Shabbat and Maariv together while forging through the tough weather. We arrived at our hosts, many of whom had no power or heat, requiring us to eat Shabbat dinner in the dark and sleep in our winter coats. While many of us were slightly shaken from the experience, our Baltimore hosts were outstanding and we bonded over food, camaraderie and zemirot. Rabbi Kirsch’s calm demeanor made the experience much less stressful, though it was surely unique. The start of this journey was an adventure we will never forget.
After Shabbos we drove to Washington, and Rabbi K prepared us for a very early wakeup call Sunday morning. Rabbi K had everything down to a science, and all 50 of us made our way to the Metro station with pre-ordered metro cards. We moved quickly to reserve seats for our large delegation at the first general session. What an incredible scene we witnessed as 18,000 individuals—Jews and non-Jews—joined forces to show support for Israel. Throughout the day, there were many breakout sessions which Rabbi Kirsch allowed us to select individually, according to our interest. At night the general session continued, followed by festivities at the AIPAC village. Monday was a similar schedule, and Tuesday was lobbying day, and following the general session, we met with Senator Booker and chiefs of staff for Senator Menendez and Congressman Frelinghuysen. Dr. Tepper and Mr. Darivoff helped prepare us for how to handle those sessions and the topics to discuss.
I have to admit, that while I was excited to attend AIPAC with Kushner, I was nervous about how I would react to sitting in so many hours of presentations and lectures over three days. But there was so much pro-Israel energy among the 18,000 participants and surprisingly, I found most of the presentations riveting, wanting to hear even more from Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer; Minister Natan Sharansky and his daughter Rachel; Vice President Pence; U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley; Senators Schumer and Menendez and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The scenes are still so memorable—the way the ovations for Ambassador Haley were so loud she could hardly begin her speech and the way Prime Minister Netanyahu came out from behind the podium to come closer to the standing crowd that formed near him. Over the three days, I became curious about different issues, asked many questions to fill in the history I was missing and learned more than I could have ever imagined about making a difference in American-Israel relations.
I am grateful to have had this amazing experience. As a grandchild of holocaust survivors, who were nearly killed because they were Jewish, I feel especially blessed to be living in this country, where a pro-Israel lobby can be so successful. I am so thankful that Hashem has restored Israel into Jewish hands and that Israel has become a world economic and humanitarian leader, while fighting off so many enemies. The greatest thank you goes out to Rabbi Kirsch for providing this incredible experience, taking care of every detail and giving us the independence and time during the conference to absorb the lessons, each in our own way. This was a growth opportunity that I never could have imagined.
By Aviva Luxenberg, RKYHS freshman
