By Pamela Kekst
As part of our inspirational day learning about Tikkun Olam with Dyonna Ginsburg, Executive Director of Olam Together, our cohort heard from a panel of professionals addressing the pressing issue of African Asylum seekers in Israel. After learning all morning about the theory, career options, and Jewish texts associated with social justice work, this panel was meant to serve as a tangible case study during which we met people who were motivated by their Jewish values to work on a relevant problem in Israeli society today.
Our panel was made up of three people—two who work for organizations trying to help asylum seekers in Israel, and one asylum seeker who made the treacherous journey from Darfur to Israel. Jean Marc, who works for CIC, explained the reasons behind Israel’s policy decisions and gave background on the 38,000 people currently seeking refuge in Israel. Rachel Gerber, who works for the Jerusalem Center for Afican Refugees shared her personal experiences helping asylum seekers and her frustration that Israel cannot come to a humane solution to this program. It was inspiring to learn that Rachel grew up at Camp Ramah, just like me, and found her passion for working with refugees in college. For many in the room, it was easy to see ourselves in Rachel’s place in a few years. Jack, the Darfurian Refugee’s Story was incredibly impactful and the whole group felt lucky to have the opportunity to hear his experience firsthand. There was a tremendous amount of respect in the room for him, and I am glad that we can all now put a human face on this issue.
However, the most amazing part of this program is seeing how it continues to engage fellows.
Each day we follow the news on Israel’s decisions regarding asylum seekers, and we continued to send news articles and updates to each other during our Passover break. As I witnessed protests happening in Jerusalem over this issue, I felt confident in my understanding of the situation and was proud of the level at which I could engage with local politics as a study abroad student. As a group of future Jewish leaders, being able to engage with the current, relevant, and pressing issues in Israeli society is important to our education and will continue to be important as we bring home what we learned here to our various institutions and roles. I know that this program ignited a passion in many of us and was the perfect way to bring Jewish social day to life.
