(Courtesy of OU) With its impressive speaker lineup and stimulating programming, NCSY’s recent Jewish Student Union (JSU) Presidents Conference in Somerset, New Jersey offered a professional convention experience geared exclusively for teens.
JSU is a network of extracurricular Jewish culture clubs for North American Jewish students in public schools and non-Jewish private schools. JSU staff engage about 20,000 teens at nearly 400 schools across North America in meaningful discussions, education and celebrations centering on Judaism and Israel, and help interested teens to develop relationships with their Jewish heritage, identities and values. JSUs are open to non-Jewish students as well, with the goal of fostering an understanding of, and allyship with, their Jewish peers.
“The objective of the Presidents Conference is to empower student leaders and to provide them with the tools to impact their communities,” said JSU National Director Devora Simon. “The event has become increasingly robust over time. The very first conference was in 2021 and we had 60 participants; this year we had about 250 attendees and sold out.”
The invitation-only event for 10th-12th graders was made possible thanks to Becky and Avi Katz, who in 2021 established the Katz Family Initiative Driving Impact in JSU, a $3 million, multiyear gift to NCSY to help support its JSU program. This year, JSU also received additional support from benefactor Harri Hoffman.
“Becky and I strongly believe in the importance of supporting Jews in difficult circumstances,” said Avi Katz, who chairs the Orthodox Union’s Board of Governors. “These JSU teens are subject to deeply distressing situations simply because they are Jews, and this is an unacceptable situation that the broader Jewish community needs to be aware of and deal with.”
As he does every year, Katz addressed the Student Executive Board (SEB), which planned much of the event’s programming. “I spoke about the current historic times for the Jewish people and asked the teens to focus on three aspects of their Jewish lives as young leaders: their relationship to Shabbos, to Israel and to Hashem,” said Katz. “I also encouraged them to maximize the opportunity to influence their JSU communities and to help spread the impact of the conference once they return home.”
According to Simon, Katz’s visit is always a conference high point. “It’s always so meaningful for our JSU leaders to learn from someone who gives so much to the community and cares about it so deeply,” she said. “In addition to their generous support, Avi and Becky encourage the JSU team tremendously and offer constructive feedback on how we can improve our program, expand our reach, create higher metrics and achieve our goals. We’re truly grateful for their support.”
Other conference highlights included skill-based workshops on topics like time management, social media optimization, marketing, public speaking, and running a board; a keynote address on Jewish leadership by social media influencer and Israel advocate Lizzy Savetsky; a networking session where teens engaged with representatives from NCSY’s various departments and organizational partners; Regional Hour, where participants met and engaged with fellow JSU members from their respective geographic regions; and a Mitzvah Lab, where participants explored one of eight mitzvot through dynamic activities like tzitzit tying, havdalah candle-making, a brachot party where teens learned about bentching and gratitude, and a kashrut session featuring live kosher birds run by OU Kosher Rabbinic Coordinator Rabbi Chaim Loike.
“One of the goals of the conference is to spur personal growth,” said Simon. “In order to become a leader, you must first grow as an individual. The idea behind the Mitzvah Lab was for participants to familiarize themselves with different mitzvot and to connect to those that resonate with them personally.”
Fifteen-year-old Tzur Shalit of Austin, Texas was honored to have been invited to the Presidents Conference as a regional representative. Shalit is homeschooled and also pursuing two associate degrees at Austin Community College, one in peace and conflict studies and the other in philosophy. He currently serves as the chief Judaics advisor of his local NCSY and is considering starting a JSU on his college campus. At the conference, his favorite session was “The CEO Secret: Learn the Most Important Leadership Skill and Why Most Leaders Fail to Do It.”
As the three-day conference coincided with Veterans Day, participants paid tribute to U.S. military veterans at a special session led by United States Air Force Lt. Col. Yoni Goldstein. The NCSY alumnus spoke at a special session called “A Life of Service,” something that deeply touched 16-year-old Lane Miller of Houston.
“Lt. Col. Goldstein shared his experience as a Jew in the Air Force and the impact Judaism has both on his job and on his life in general,” said Miller, who is the JSU vice president at Lamar High School. I really related to him because I may be interested in joining a branch of the armed forces. He was a big inspiration.”
With Israel at the forefront of everyone’s minds, programming also centered on Oct. 7, antisemitism and anti-Zionism. In “Israel Beyond the Headlines,” a panel of representatives from StandWithUs and Unpacked for Educators explored ways to respond to challenging conversations about Israel. Various roundtable discussions also focussed on Israel and antisemitism, and teens built an Oct. 7 memorial during the conference out of blocks featuring handwritten messages of hope. There was also a wall featuring all of the hostages’ pictures where teens committed to performing a mitzvah or act of chesed in their honor.
Beyond the emphasis on Israel’s current painful reality, conference organizers felt it was also critical to highlight Israel in happier, carefree times.
“We really wanted to foster excitement around Israel,” said Simon. “To that end, we hosted a fun Israel Fair with delicious food and great music. Each JSU region hosted a different booth and everyone had an amazing time.”
Students can apply to open a JSU club at their school by visiting jsu.org/start-a-club.
