Just prior to the Pesach break, RKYHS students had the privilege of hearing from Archie Gottesman, founder of JewBelong. Gottesman provided background on JewBelong, which was founded to provide practical and relatable resources for disengaged Jews to reconnect to Judaism. When the world changed on October 7, Gottesman knew that the task at hand was no longer just to focus on the joy of Judaism and shifted her focus to target the antisemitism that began raging throughout the country. Through blunt, relevant and purposefully edgy messaging, JewBelong targets antisemitism through billboards in public places, in cities large and small across the country, in addition to billboard trucks driving around. JewBelong’s easy-to-digest messaging aims to reach a world and population that continues to receive its news and information through soundbites and headlines.

Students were enraptured with Gottesman’s dynamic and relatable presentation and were inspired to take the message to heart of being proud Jews, but also knowing their task at hand to fight antisemitism and use their voices to effect change, no matter how big or how small.