(Photo: IAC)
SAN DIEGO (Press Release) — From December 5-8 at The Diplomat Resort & Hotel in South Florida, the 2019 Israeli-American Council (IAC) National Summit will bring together nearly 4,000 attendees from around the world for critical dialogue and inspiring sessions as part of an event that shapes the Jewish communal conversation.
In San Diego, the IAC’s Regional Director is Merav Shenhar, who moved to the U.S. with her family in 2006 and currently lives in Scripps Ranch. After finishing her service in the IDF and traveling to Asia, she earned her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and then her MBA at Ben-Gurion University. After graduating, she worked as a financial business analyst for a leading consumer products company.
Leading up to this week’s IAC National Summit, Shenhar reflected on the Israeli-American community’s unique and growing role as a “living bridge” linking Israel and Jewish America.
Q: The theme of this year’s summit is “Israel. Together” — emphasizing how the IAC helps Israeli-Americans function as a living bridge between Israel and American Jewry and the United States. How does your IAC region accomplish this mission on a daily basis?
A: There is much in common between U.S. Jews and Israeli-Americans in terms of common values and a love for Israel. The IAC has several impactful programs and initiatives that bring together Israeli Americans and American Jews, but I think the most impactful one is our youth program, IAC Eitanim (named after Major Eitan Balachsan, z”l, commander of the IDF Paratroopers Commando, who was killed in a special operation in 1999.) In IAC Eitanim, we have about a 60/40 mix of Israeli-Americans with other Jewish teens. For 30% of them, this is their first, and sometimes only, Jewish program that they are attending (according to the San Diego Jewish Teen Initiative). I think that making a significant connection between these two communities at such an early age is crucial for a lasting and impactful relationship.
Q: Further, how have you seen the IAC’s influence as that “living bridge” increase on a national level in recent years?
A: While most of our activities are targeting local communities throughout the U.S., we do have our national summits like the one from December 5-8 and IAC Eitanim hackathons, which do a tremendous job bringing folks from all regions (and from Israel) together so that they can make connections with one another. My daughter, for example, has attended multiple IAC Eitanim hackathons, and now has friends all over the U.S. that she keeps in touch with and is always eager to meet.
Q: Can you describe the positions you held in the Jewish/Israeli world and otherwise prior to joining the IAC, and how working for the IAC today advances both your personal and professional mission?
A: Prior to joining the IAC, I mostly went as a participant to Israeli-American events, like music concerts, theatre shows from Israel or adaptations by local performers, etc. My children used to be involved in the Israeli Scouts and we were affiliated with a local Chabad in San Diego. In 2017, I attended the IAC National Summit in Washington, DC, and was blown away when I saw thousands of other passionate Israeli-Americans and American Jews – I was really inspired.
I saw that I wasn’t the only one with questions about my hybrid identity and seeking a community.
I saw that the IAC already had programs in place throughout its regions for every generation of a family. I was inspired to play a role in helping to strengthen my community, and I’m proud to be part of an organization that connects Israeli-Americans and American Jews because we are stronger when we are united as a Jewish family.
As the regional director in San Diego, I now work closely with other Jewish organizations, am much more connected to the community at large, and with our great volunteers in San Diego we are creating and more events each month – uniting and strengthening our community around a shared love of Israel.
Q: Is there anything else noteworthy about your specific IAC region that we should know about — particularly specific programs which have made a significant impact in your community?
A: In addition to IAC Eitanim which we already mentioned, we are also seeing how “IAC Gvanim (Diverse) Leadership” Alumni are getting more involved in the San Diego community, leading and chairing many local events including the recent “Mega Challah Bake” and “Community Havdalah” at Shabbat San Diego.
Another local example occurred last summer when the California Department of Education tried to pass a proposed curriculum that was blatantly anti-Israel. Had this curriculum been approved, it would be taught across all California public schools, and made our schools an unsafe environment for Israeli-American students. This reality was unacceptable.
IAC worked around the clock to mobilize the entire community. We collected thousands of signatures, we sent thousands of postcards, shared viral ads on social media, exposed the anti-Israel/pro-BDS characters who were advancing this proposal. In the end, the Department of Education rejected the proposal and agreed to review the curriculum. Had the IAC community not acted swiftly, it would have been a very different reality. I don’t know what the future of this curriculum will be, but I can assure you that we will fight whatever we deem dangerous and unfair to our community.
While I’m incredibly proud of the impact we have made and the achievements this community has managed in such a short time, I know that the road ahead is long and there are many more opportunities for the IAC to act, to build this amazing community.
Q: How would you describe the IAC National Summit experience? What should someone attending the summit for the first time expect?
A: The IAC National Summit is a festival for all people who love Israel, featuring more than 120 speakers, including U.S. President Donald Trump.
It’s an intense, four-day experience where you have lots of fun with great Israeli performers and parties on the one hand, and also a plethora of thought-provoking sessions about current events and pressing issues facing Israel and the Jewish people for all different age groups and demographics. You spend time with your delegation friends from back home and also get to meet others from around the U.S.
It really is an amazing experience!
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Preceding provided by the Israeli-American Council.