44 | FEBRUARY 10 • 2022
M
y name is Mary Yousif. I am
22 and am the first generation
born in the U.S. to my family.
I take on many roles within my daily
life and community, whether it be a
daughter, student, teaching
assistant, volunteer,
researcher or, most of all, a
proud Israel supporter and
advocate.
Israel. There is no place
that I’ve had as strong
of a connection with
than the state of Israel.
I’m sure many of you
are wondering “How did you become
connected to Israel? When did it
begin? How did you get involved in the
community?” Let me begin by telling
you about myself.
Being Chaldean, I was raised among
two cultures: my ethnicity and the land
I reside in. Often, I felt that I didn’t
fit into either community but rather
roamed in-between the two cultures,
striving to fulfill the roles of each side.
Living in the U.S., we are exposed
to a multitude of diversity around us,
and I made it a goal to make sure that
others didn’t feel left out or secluded
the way I did. I become a part of the
effort to bridge different communities
together and take the time to learn
about others — their cultures, their
language, way of life, values and, most
of all, their people. Hence, my decision
to pursue my undergraduate studies in
Spanish and medicine.
I grew up in a pro-Israel family
who always praised Israel and proudly
advocated its right to exist. Ironically,
I knew nothing about the country nor
the people, and it wasn’t until my junior
year at Wayne State that all that would
change.
Like many college students, I was
involved in all sorts of organizations
and held many leadership positions.
At the time, I was the vice president
of Wayne State’s El Club Hispano
and secretary for the Honors Student
Association. It was a crazy time, with
school, work and extracurriculars. Who
thought there would be more hidden
along the way?
During the fall semester, I received an
email from an organization called Hillel
of Metro Detroit. I had never heard of
it before, and I was shocked because the
email was inviting me to apply for the
Maccabee Task Force Fact Finders Trip
to Israel. I didn’t know what to expect,
and I remember coming home that
evening and telling my parents about
it. Knowing of my involvement within
other minority communities, they
encouraged me to apply and learn more
about the State of Israel, its people and
better understand the ongoing conflict
between Israel and Palestine. Little did
I know that I would get accepted and
that that trip was the beginning of my
journey within this community.
AN EYE-OPENING TRIP
Fact Finders was such an amazing
and eye-opening trip for me! The
speakers we had throughout our trip
were so influential and furthered my
interest in Israel. I wanted to learn
about everything — the government,
its position on a global scale, and its
role in technology and medicine. My
knowledge about Israel grew ten times
and all the experiences that I had, I
cherished. I wrote them down in my
journal so I wouldn’t forget the most
important time in my life. After the
Fact Finders trip, I wanted to stay a
part of the community and started
participating in Hillel of Metro Detroit
events at Wayne State.
I attended Café Irvit lessons with
Hillel staff, who taught me how to
speak, read and write Hebrew. Every
minute I had in between classes, I
would go to our Hillel and immerse
myself within the community I grew
fond of.
Everything happened so quickly;
my involvement in Hillel grew and
one thing turned into another. After
Fact Finders, I was invited to go
to Washington, D.C., to attend the
AIPAC Policy Conference, and was
even offered a position on the board
for Students for Israel. We created so
many events. One of my favorites was
L’chaim: An Ode
to Israel
Mary
Yousif
jewish@edu
writer
ESSAY
Hillel of Metro Detroit students attend the Israeli American Council National Summit.
for college students
by college students