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Emerging Leaders

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his summer I had the 
opportunity to par-
ticipate in the Shalom 
Hartman Institute’
s Emerging 
Jewish Thought Leaders: 
Together At Home. I was sup-
posed to be at 
Camp Ramah in 
Wisconsin for 
my final summer, 
but COVID-19 
disrupted those 
plans. I had to 
readjust every-
thing and decide 
the best way to spend my sum-
mer. 
When I found out that I 
would have the chance to learn 
with several hundred teens from 
all over the country and to talk 
about issues happening in the 

Jewish community and issues 
happening all over the world, I 
was intrigued. 
Over the course of a month, 
we had three weekly Beit 
Midrash sessions and after every 
single one, I reflected on what I 
learned and what the other teens 
had to say. The most memorable 
Beit Midrash session was “Israel 
as Home for All its Citizens,
” 
with Mohammad Dawarshe 
and Masua Sagiv. Dawarshe, an 
Israeli Arab, and Sagiv, an Israeli 
Jew, discussed and debated the 
ongoing issues in Israel and 
whether they think a two-state 
solution is still possible. 
Over the course of the session, 
we explored the role of Israeli 
Arabs in society overall. Being 
able to listen to Dawarshe’
s story 

and his views on Israel really 
changed my perspective, too. I 
believe that the State of Israel 
belongs to the Jewish people, but 
I think Israel needs to continue 
finding more ways to be inclu-
sive to all Israeli citizens so they 
can feel at home, too. 
I really want to thank the 
Hartman Institute for giving 
me the privilege of listening to 
amazing speakers and for giving 
us all a voice. I can’
t wait to use 
what I learned from this pro-
gram and to bring it with me all 
the way to Israel. 

Tali Rubenstein lives in West 
Bloomfield. This school year, she will 
be attending Alexander Muss High 
School in Israel for a semester, and 
then returning to Groves High School 
for the remainder of her junior year.

T

hroughout my time as 
a fellow within Shalom 
Hartman’
s Emerging 
Jewish Thought Leaders: 
Together At Home program, I 
was consistently pushed to grow 
as a student as well as a Jewish 
teen. I was able 
to explore my 
Judaism, strength-
en connections 
and build new 
relationships. But 
most of all, my 
thinking was chal-
lenged, unfailingly, 
every single day. 
Whether it was through my 
elective about meritocracy and 
the ways in which it influences 
the Jewish community or Beit 
Midrash sessions where I was 
able to listen to some of the 
most accomplished individuals 
speak, I found myself contin-

uously questioning my morals 
and beliefs. 
Most of all, I looked forward 
to my small group discussions, 
in which I was able to unpack 
the most challenging topics 
within a more personal setting. 
Being able to speak with teens 
just like me from across North 
America was incredibly impact-
ful and, despite the many miles 
between us, I found myself 
forming unique connections. 
Above all, being able to create 
a capstone project that encom-
passed my knowledge from the 
summer was the most influen-
tial component of this experi-
ence. I chose to explore further 
how social justice is a funda-
mental part of our Judaism, 
and I did so through creating 
a website with a close friend 
and member of my small group 
cohort. Being able to provide 

others with ways to help various 
social justice movements was 
significant and subsequently 
helped to strengthen my argu-
ment. 
Ultimately, being able to learn 
and grow as a Jew during such 
an unprecedented time was 
beyond enlightening. Exploring 
the contemporary challenges 
that North American Jews face 
evidently challenged and shaped 
the way I live my life. I am 
incredibly grateful to have been 
able to be a part of this program, 
and this experience is one that I 
will undoubtedly never forget. 

Lenna Petersen is a rising junior at 
Bloomfield Hills High School, and 
is 
 passionate about social justice, 
journalism and politics. She is NFTY 
Michigan’
s communications vice 
president and loves to spend her 
summers at Goldman Union Camp 
Institute.

6 | SEPTEMBER 3 • 2020 

Tali 
Rubenstein

Editor’
s Note: After realizing the cancellation of summer programs and camps for Jewish teens through-
out North America would leave them without a meaningful summer experience, the Shalom Hartman 
Institute and national and local partners recruited 260 emerging teen leaders to engage in a month-long 
fellowship. Two of those teens agreed to write about their experience for the JN.

Lenna 
Peterson

ically be together is something 
that I pray our teachers will be 
able to experience in the not too 
distant future. 

— Janet Pont 

Southfield

Another Jewish 
Primary Winner

The August 13 article about win-
ners and losers in the August 
primary failed to mention another 
Jewish candidate.
In the three-way primary race 
for an open seat on the Oakland 
County Circuit Court, Jewish 
candidate Lorie Savin topped the 
ballot against Clarence Dass and 
Maura Battersby Murphy. Mrs. 
Savin, an Oakland County Friend 
of the Court referee, will now face 
Mr. Dass in the November general 
election.

— Sheldon Larky

West Bloomfield

Ann Arbor Protesters

I fear that recent news reports 
on the court case involving 
picketers outside an Ann Arbor 
synagogue (Aug. 27, pg. 27) 
tend 
to accept at face value the picket-
ers’
 self-image as benign human 
rights advocates. 
In fact, as public records show, 
the leaders and many of the fol-
lowers are hard-core antisemites 
and neo-Nazi sympathizers. The 
following information, readily 
available from public sources, 
I have compiled as part of my 
University of Michigan research on 
American hate groups.

LETTERS continued from page 5

continued on page 10

HENRY HERSKOVITZ

